Ida - The Braille Night
(Tiger Style)
The Braille Night made me a little nervous when it was released. I knew that the songs
were recorded during the same time frame as the songs released on last year's Will You Find
Me, so I was worried that they might be the songs that weren't good enough to make it onto
that record. And while I am happy to report that quite a lot of the songs on The Braille Night
are as good or better than songs on Ida's previous records, I am sad to say that there are still
a lot that seem more like Will You Find Me left-overs. That isn't to say that they are bad
songs, just not quite up to the level of quality that I normally expect on an Ida record.
"Let's Go Walking," the only song on the album that gives the full band a writing credit,
could have easily been taken right off of Will You Find Me. It has the same feel and is
equal in quality to any song on said album, the beautiful mixture of subtle and wandering
guitar, violin, wulitzer, and organ melodies with unique and creative drumming that is fresh and
interesting without drawing attention away from the other instruments. Besides Ida's trademark
folky mature pop songwriting, "Let's Go Walking" also includes Littleton and Mitchell's unique
vocal harmonies and interplay... which, if you ask me is the most important part of Ida's music.
The Braille Night shines brightest on "So Long" and "So Worn Out," where the
instruments fade a little more into the distance creating a beautiful backdrop to the song, letting
the male/female vocals take centerstage. The short instrumental title track, "The Braille Night,"
is a perfect follow up to "So Worn Out." It is a blend of long-held organ and violin (and probably
other instruments) notes that are all extended to different lengths, breaking the restrains of
traditional songwriting and creating an open space for the notes to slowly and continually evolve
into other notes.
While the songs listed above rival any Ida songs from the past in quality, "Ignatia Amara" and
"Moves Through the Air" feel as if they were added because they were recorded. They aren't
bad songs, they just don't seem to shine as bright when held up next to the other songs on the
album. "Arrowhead," on the other hand, just plain seems a little out of place, coming across
more like an Indigo Girls song than an Ida song.
However, as imperfect as the The Braille Night is, the great songs on the record are
wonderful enough that the album is still well worth purchasing. It is just too bad they didn't
make an amazing EP.
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