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Mercy Oceans
'Mercy Oceans' is UK based musician Andria
Degens's second album after 1999's 'Trees Hold Time'. The name,
which sprang from Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy
and was further carried by the discovery of St. Pantaleimon (a healer),
means 'all is merciful'.
These references capture Degens's nature, her awareness of karmic
burden and innate naturalism—she believes that 'all of us
can perform miracles in our lifetime if our faith, discipline, focus
and commitment to 'God' is strong enough'. Her lyrics are repeated
in childlike sweeps, suggestive of a less naive Vashti Bunyan. Her
constructions are minimalist and meditative, and Degens has an unconscious
feeling for creating layered, simple melodies coated in gentle whimsy.
'High Star' and 'We Love' are billowing clouds of cushioned accoustics,
the faint whirr of wind, strings, and a monotone flux. But her guiding
intuition drifts a little off course for 'All the Birds', veering
into a dreamless sleep of repetition that fails to occupy attention.
'Mercy Oceans' is focused, crafting meditative arrangements from
skeletal acoustics and gentle haunting vocals. It exists in a spiritual
hinterland, dancing in the half light before dawn; a magical time
between waking and sleeping.
- JENNIFER ALLAN, WIRE MAGAZINE FEB 2008
"Hastings-based Andria Degens steps
out of folk collective Current 93 to deliver her second solo album.
Accompanied by harpist Baby Dee, with Keith Wood on guitar and Isobel
Campbell on cello, Degens creates a drowsy, ringing sound with Appalachian
dulcimer, bouzouki and octave mandola. The medieval feel of this
beautiful instrumentation is complemented by delicate vocals delivered
as a breathy drone. Monophonic arrangements can render the vocals
flat against such jewel-like orchestration, but after repeated listening
it really works. 'I am, I am, the stars, the seas,' intones Degens
repeatedly on 'I Am', as she whirls you into a meditative trance."
- Sunday 13th January 2008 - Katie Toms, The Observer
"The second LP by Hastings-based alt folkie
and Current 93 collaborator Andria Degens is a beautifully poised
affair, her desolate vocals and open-hearted lyrics tastefully supported
by dulcimer, harp, cello and "ambient sounds courtesy of flight
AB6187 from Berlin to Athens". Guests include Isobel Campbell
and Hush Arbors guitarist Keith Wood"
- Mojo, February 2008 by Manish Argwal 3/5.
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