Rachel's

The fourth album from this Louisville-based contemporary chamber ensemble finds the group exploring new terrain and developing different textures. The sombre melodies evoke stunningly dramatic atmospheres, combining viola, cello and piano with guitar and drums. Centring around the trio of Jason Noble, Christian Frederickson and Rachel Grimes, this evolving ensemble continues to borrow heavily from traditional Western classical music, while making use of certain rock devices for structure and impact. The results on Selenography conjure a warm calm, devoid of any jarring sequences to break the spell. Some new twists turn up on “Honeysuckle Suite” a piece for solo harpsichord, performed by Grimes, and “Artemisia,” which incorporates electronic elements with spoken word. “The Mysterious Disappearance of Louis LePrince,” which also uses electronic rhythms creates a noir spy film ambience, not unlike Portishead. In fact the wide range of filmic atmospheres presented also comes across in the band’s recent live performances which have included film projections. Not surprisingly their music has already been used in a number of feature films and Selenography is the most gentle of Rachel’s soundtracks thus far.