Update: I moved the White Flags of Winter Chimneys album flash player beneath the post cut so that it wouldn’t auto-start while this particular page loaded. Thanks.

Note: I know I don’t write music reviews, but I’m giving it a shot for an artist that’s near and dear to my heart.

It’s been approximately four months since I reconnected with my love of all things Wendy and Lisa. During that time, Wendy and Lisa released White Flags of Winter Chimneys – their first album since 1998′s Girl Bros – through their website on December 9, 2008. For me, White Flags of Winter Chimneys was an exciting and hotly anticipated music release. I’d just began my musical journey with Wendy and Lisa’s solo work with their first album, Wendy and Lisa, in early November 2008. Although I’d heard some music from different phases of their solo career, I was still missing the full spectrum of Wendy and Lisa’s evolution as artists. After hearing Balloon and Invisible – two tracks from their new album – I was intrigued by their musical direction. As a long time fan taking a crash course in Wendy and Lisa’s music, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with the new album other than an alternative/rock feel. I’d dropped any preconceived notions that Wendy and Lisa needed to sound like The Revolution era long ago, and I was musically open and receptive to what they were doing now. Even though I was still playing catch up at the time, I had a gut instinct that White Flags of Winter Chimneys would be a musical experience to behold. I was glad my instincts were right.

I can still remember my reaction upon listening to White Flags of Winter Chimneys from beginning to end. I felt like I’d heard one of the best albums of 2008…hands down. Over the years, I’ve come to expect albums to have four good-great singles, maybe a couple of alright-good songs, and “bloatware” to fill out the rest of the space on an album. It’s rare to find albums in this music age where I can listen to every single track and not feel inclined to skip to the next track. White Flags of Winter Chimneys is one of those albums that keeps your finger away from the fast forward button. If anything, it keeps your finger on the rewind button to hear a track again and again and again.

White Flags of Winter Chimneys takes me on a haunting yet ethereal journey every time I listen to it. I take off slowly with the opening track, Balloon, ascend quickly to the stratosphere with tracks like Red Bike and Salt & Cherries (MC5), and land gently back down on Earth with Sweet Suite (Beginning at the End). And if that isn’t enough, I have four bonus tracks (only available exclusively from Wendy and Lisa’s website) that I never exclude while listening:

• The Dream
• Niagara Falls (Lisa demo from 1997)
• Viste
• Waiting for Coffee

As I mentioned earlier, Wendy and Lisa’s new album has an overall alternative/rock theme to it, but it also subtly touches on their musical past (i.e. the bonus track The Dream) and musical present as film/TV scorers (i.e. the beautiful epic Sweet Suite [Beginning at the End]). Just when I think I have nailed down a song (or few) that’s my favorite, my ears find something new to love about another song. While I have my standout tracks that I play regularly – Balloon, Red Bike, Salt & Cherries (MC5), Waiting for Coffee, and Sweet Suite (Beginning at the End) – I truly love the entire album.

Ever since I downloaded White Flags of Winter Chimneys from their site, it has been on regular rotation as indicated by the number of Last.fm scrobbles I have contributed. Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman have clearly taken the time to craft quality music with their new album. In fact, it’s clear that time has only made them a finely tuned music machine. Lisa’s emotionally stirring vocals touches your soul with each haunting yet beautiful note, and her expressive playing shines brighter than ever. Wendy’s vocals and guitar work kicks ass and takes names on rock-driven songs and makes you feel like you’re slowly tumbling down a gentle waterfall on the softer ballads. Together, Wendy and Lisa crafted a musical masterpiece in White Flags of Winter Chimneys that is an experience, not just an album. Plain and simple, White Flags of Winter Chimneys gives you multiple musical eargasms that won’t quit.

You will be able to purchase White Flags of Winter Chimneys via retailers such as Amazon’s MP3 store on February 24; however, if you can’t wait (and you shouldn’t), you can buy it now at their official website, which includes multiple packages and the bonus tracks.

Tags: entertainment, music, music review, the revolution, wendy and lisa, white flags of winter chimneys

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Commentary, Life, Play, Reviews. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.