DOWNLOAD: Wendy & Lisa - Invisible (MP3)

Wendy & Lisa's first new release in 10 years is dreamy and hypnotic and the disc's sound reminds me of many of the old 4AD bands.

This is a complex record as Wendy & Lisa build a musical landscape across the disc's nine songs. The song structures and melodies are both subtle and multi-layered and the songs flow seamlessly from one to the next. The overall tone of this disc is dark and moody and principal vocalist Wendy Melvoin sounds world-weary as she takes the listener on an emotional journey through love, longing and sadness. The disc's production gives the songs enough space to 'breathe' which prevents this from being a depressing album and provides some light in the darkness.

While most of the cuts on this disc are ambient and somewhat hazy, Wendy & Lisa pick up the pace mid-way through the disc with (Prince-ish) funk rock piece "Salt & Cherries (MC5)" and the indie-rock sounds of "Niagra Falls". Stellar production keeps the disc flowing so this transition isn't as jaring as this description may make it sound. The disc closes with the (almost) nine minute epic "Sweet Suite (Beginning At the End)", which is a haunting and beautiful piano ballad that brings the disc's sound back to the point where it started.

White Flags of Winter Chimneys is available through all of the usual online outlets (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) but if you purchase the disc through Wendy & Lisa's website, the digital version comes with four bonus tracks that are unavailable elsewhere.

Bonus Tracks
1) "Niagra Falls (Lisa Demo 4_1_1997)" (5:17)
2) "The Dream (1992 Home Demo)" (4:58)
3) "Viste (1993 Happy Birthday Maxine Home Recording)" (4:30)
4) "Waiting for Coffee (1995 Home Demo)" (4:03)