Dwelling - Ainda É Noite

Published May 09 2007

*=Staff's pick	Vigíla Acordar Ainda É Noite Sou Eu! Forget Me Not* Some Love, Please?* Da Minha Ausência Enthralled Fujo De Mi What If…? Opus DCXVI

Genre	Neo-Classical	Catarina Raposo	Vocals
Tracks	11	Nunu Roberto	Guitar
Runningtime	40 Min.	Moritz Branco	Guitar
Label	Equilibrium Music	Jaime Ferreira	Bass
Release	25 April 2007	Sílvia Freitas	Violin
Country	Portugal	Alexandra Bochmann	Violin
Similar artists	---

I guess this is not for the average Metal Covenant reader, and I don't see it as our job to broaden your horizons outside of metal, but with the courtesy of Equilibrium Music, here you have the chance nevertheless. Ainda É Noite is the second album from the Portuguese band Dwelling that debuted with the album Humana in 2003 which followed the EP Moments released in 2001. The band was formed by guitarist Nuno Roberto in 1998 and at that time it started out as a solo project but as time has moved on the band has filled up with more musicians along the way.

This is really soft and easy going music with a classical touch, and I do mean classical in its original sense, not as in Breaking The Law by Judas Priest as a classic song, but as in classical with a capital C. With classical guitar and violin as main instruments, you realise that this band does not need much of electrical power to present their music, and it is calm and soothing music that meets your ear. Not that this is exactly my field of expertise, but it feels like Dwelling really has a great deal of their native sound in them, it really sound like Portuguese music.

As I am not that conversant in neo-classical music, or in classical music by any means, I am not sure how to describe this music and further what I can draw comparisons with. Nevertheless Catarina Raposo on vocals sings beautifully with a fragile yet strong voice, although I am not that keen on when she sings in the Portuguese language. Nevertheless, in the soft ballad Forget Me Not, I can finally see something that I can relate to, since when she sings in English she sounds close to Sarah Jezebel Diva as she sings in Angtoria. On the positive side I would also like to add the jazzy touch in some of the songs, a kind of music I am learning to appreciate more and more as the years go by, and in Some Love, Please?, it comes out well.

The music that Dwelling produces creates an intimate feeling, and there is no doubt that they are incredibly good musicians. Some parts where the guitars get to weave some intrigued patterns it sounds fascinating and my ears raise as on a cat that spots a mouse. But still, in general this is not my cup of tea as it in my book falls flat and I can't help but getting mostly bored by this pompous music.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	9	8	8	2

Summary
3,5 chalices of 10 - Thomas