01	Night Surf						04:12
	02	Splinters						08:36
	03	Ghosts						05:48
	04	Joyride						04:18
	05	The Lingering						09:25
	06	The Dark Road						04:17
	07	Chrome Dawn						07:12
	08	Dusk City						06:05
	09	Ararat						01:35

Trude Eidtang (vocals),
Lars Fredrik Froislie (keyboards, electronics),
Jacob Holm-Lupo (guitars),
Ketil Vestrum Einarsen (woodwinds),
Marthe Berger Walthinsen (bass guitar)
Aage Moltke Schou (drums, percussion).

Brynjar Dambo, who played keyboards on "Sacrament", guests on one track.


White Willow - Signal To Noise
White Willow - Signal To Noise
Country of Origin: Norway
Format: CD
Record Label: Laser's Edge
Catalogue #: LE1046
Year of Release: 2006
Time: 51:04


Tracklist: Night Surf (4:12), Splinters (8:36), Ghosts (5:49), Joyride (4:19), The Lingering (9:25), The Dark Road (4:17), Chrome Dawn (7:13), Dusk City (6:06), Ararat (1:35)

I certainly haven’t been badly-off for promo CDs to review in recent months. Normally that would mean that the arrival of an album from a band like White Willow, would mean it simply getting passed on to be reviewed by someone who knows a lot more about this sort of thing than me.

However the cover provoked my curiosity and so I slipped the promo into the CD player just to see exactly what White willow sounded like before I pooped them into the post. Almost an hour later, I was still there listening to the fantastic music that was coming out of the speakers!

On that basis, the album never made it into another envelope and Signal To Noise has been a favourite selection for my quieter moments of musical endeavour ever since. What follows therefore is a review from someone who has next to no reference points for this sort of music and someone who has never before heard a single track of White Willow's music. I hope therefore, that my recommendation at the end, holds even greater weight.

To set this in some sort of context for existing fans, according to the band:

‘The album was recorded in three weeks, in contrast to our usual one-year-of-recording policy. This is reflected in a leaner, more band-oriented sound, and more focused song-writing. The band foregoes some of the hard rock elements of the previous record, while still retaining the force and intensity typical of the band's current incarnation, and blending distinct symphonic arrangements with a contemporary, direct attitude.’

Signal To Noise is White Willow's fifth studio album and the first to feature new singer Trude Eidtang. She is the first big attraction to this album for me. Her voice and especially the use of harmonies is absolutely fantastic. The musical love-child of Tori Amos and Kate Bush, her command of the melodies on the first two tracks in particular, provides an awesomely beautiful listening pleasure.

The keyboard work from Lars Fredrik Frшislie will be the reason to buy this for progressive fans. He certainly uses the full repertoire of atmospheres, tones and textures from (according to the notes) a Mellotron M400S, Hammond C3, Mini-Moog, ARP Pro-soloist, Fender Rhodes and Hohner Clavinet, as well as some modern pieces of kit.

The constant presence of flute and other woodwind instruments gives an intermittent folky feel to the album. The sound is as clear as a Norwegian winter’s sky and producer Tommy Hansen has really given a lovely warm feel to this disc.

Song-wise there really is a huge variety on offer. The fantastic Night Surf starts off all mysterious, before twin harmonies and flute builds the song slowly but very surely, sucking the listener into a powerful and addictive chorus. Track two opens with a Marillion-esque guitar run and continues to offer neo-prog guitars and keys around another beautiful melody. In sharp contrast Ghosts is an oddball instrumental that, from all the electronica present within, must have a few reference points to King Crimson.

Another highlight is to be found within Joy Ride where one moves from a jolty verse (think Bjцrk) to a smooth chorus (think The Corrs) and onto a beautiful bridge (think Kate Bush). The whole thing is wrapped in a plethora of moods but with a consistently happy vibe.

There’s another beautifully brilliant vocal melody and exquisite harmonic bursts as you liger through The Lingering, alongside some very tasty guitar work from Jacob Holm-Lupo. Then continuing the rich variety, you are taken along The Dark Road, which is a actually a pretty straight English folk song done in a singer/songwriter style. This touch of predictability adds a nice bit of stability to the album, being a clever piece of track ordering.

The only time my dislike of widdly prog makes a visit to the 'skip' button a possibility, is on the guitar-led instrumental Chrome Dawn. Combined with Dusk City, which follows, the album does go out with a bit of a whimper. The vocal melody here isn’t anything like as good as on the opening few tracks, and the short outro piece, Ararat, is a disappointing way to close what has until then been an amazingly high-quality product.

That apart, this is a hugely fulfilling album that will keep the progheads content, whilst having the potential to appeal to music lovers from a very wide field. This really is the sort of album that should be appearing somewhere in the end of year DPRP Top 10 – it’s that good.

If like me, you’ve never given this band a go before, then after a few spins of Signal To Noise, you’ll be wondering what else you may have missed from this White Willow back catalogue. Superb female-fronted modern Prog.

Conclusion: 9 out of 10

ANDY READ