Ida, "Heart Like a River"
Ida is a perfect example of pop music in its finest form. At the heartof the group are three multi-talented singer/songwriters, who, whentogether make some of the most beautiful harmonies and memorable songs.Polyvinyl
Since 2002's The Braille Night, the main members of Ida havefollowed numerous pursuits: Dan has recorded with wife and Ida partnerElizabeth Mitchell as Nanang Tatang, with close friend Tara Jane O'Neiland solo; Elizabeth has made significant waves and a bunch ofpint-sized fans with her children's recordings; and Karla has squeezeda few releases out as K. The trio regrouped from 2003-2004 (this timewithout drummer and brother Miggy) to record this album and while Ihave enjoyed their extracurricular endeavors, nothing compares to thethree-part harmonies and collaborative songcraft they exhibit togetheras Ida.
Months after hearing this record for the first time and seeing themlive in one of the most fantastic settings, I'm finding myselfcontinuously coming back to the music (consider that the true strength of an album). Songs like Dan's high registerprettiness in "The Morning" is the formula many fans would probablyagree make for some of Ida's most memorable tunes, like "Beast of theBelated" from the Losing True EP. Karla's heart-aching honesty on songs"What Can I Do," and "Honeyslide" echo the beauty and pain of KarenCarpenter, while the full-voiced three-part harmonies on "599," andmore subdued melodies on the album's opener and closer "Laurel Blues,"and "Forgive" are pure bliss. With the absence of drummer Miggy, it'snot surprising that a number of the tracks are left without drums butwith the new lineup—which features a new drummer/percussionist andviolinist—the live show has plenty of beat, variety, and 'tude fromsong to song.
Ida have never been gimmicky or trendy, and that can be seen as botha benefit and a curse as they'll probably never win the revolving doorof vicious young critics in the independent music world nor therecognition from mainstream pop, but their fans are solid and won'tever seem to outgrow the band.
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