Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld - Never Were The Way She Was (2015)

Constellation Records: CST113
http://www.cstrecords.com/cst113/
http://www.cstrecords.com/new-release-colin-stetson-and-sarah-neufeld-never-were-the-way-she-was/



* Colin Stetson : tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, contrabass clarinet
* Sarah Neufeld : violin, voice

http://www.stetsonneufeldduo.com/

http://www.colinstetson.com/
http://www.sarahneufeldmusic.com/

Engineered by Hans Bernhard at The End of the World.
Mixed by Mark Lawson at Sonobee.
Mastered by Harris Newman at Greymarket Mastering.
Reviews


By Alan Ranta
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/colin_stetson_sarah_neufeld-never_were_way_she_was

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld met back in 2006, but it took them close to a
decade to find the time to record an album together. They were busy performing
together in Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre, scoring the film Blue Caprice,
supporting each other at various shows, and releasing critically lauded solo
albums; namely, Stetson's New History Warfare record trilogy and Neufeld's Hero
Brother from 2013. Thankfully, amidst that madness, they managed to put aside a
week here and a week there to combine their collective skills and extended
techniques into a singular effort that is ultimately greater than their
individual efforts.

Recorded live with no overdubs or loops, Never were the way she was is a
perfect blend of Neufeld's violin virtuosity and Stetson's outside-the-box
approach to saxophone and clarinet, their styles complementing yet pushing each
other to new heights. The album's theme follows the story of a woman who ages
as slowly as the mountains, with its compositions following a trajectory from
her playful youth to a kind of self-imposed exile from humanity. Yet, it's
entirely instrumental, so the story is really up to the listener to imagine,
and this album truly ignites the imagination.

From the lightness of "The sun roars into view," as the tenor sax and violin
timbres oscillate alongside each other, to the grimy dirge of "With the dark
hug of time," as the violin simmers pensively and contrabass clarinet chugs
along in a grim march while a tortured howl emotes through the texture, Never
were the way she was feels like it was destined to be.

--

By Thom Jurek
http://www.allmusic.com/album/never-were-the-way-she-was-mw0002837032

By Janus and Karl
http://www.freejazzblog.org/2015/07/colin-stetsonsarah-neufeld-never-were.html

By Jayson Greene
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20289-colin-stetson-sarah-neufeld-never-were-the-way-she-was/

By A Noah Harrison
http://www.popmatters.com/review/193141-colin-stetson-and-sarah-neufeld-never-were-the-way-she-was/

Henning Bolte (nl)
http://www.writteninmusic.com/rock/colin-stetson-sarah-neufeld-never-were-the-way-she-was/

Di Stefano Pifferi (it)
http://sentireascoltare.com/recensioni/colin-stetson-sarah-neufeld-never-were-the-way-she-was/

Di Felice Marotta (it)
http://www.distorsioni.net/canali/dischi/never-were-the-way-she-was

Di Elena Raugei (it)
http://ilmucchio.it/recensioni/musica/colin-stetson-and-sarah-neufeld/

Par Olivier Lamm (fr)
http://next.liberation.fr/culture/2015/05/31/colin-stetson-et-sarah-neufeld-souffle-onirique-et-cordes-sensibles_1320398

Par Anne Yven (fr)
http://www.citizenjazz.com/Colin-Stetson-et-Sarah-Neufeld.html

Por Ghost Writer (es)
http://www.youareaghost.blogspot.com/2015/05/colin-stetson-and-sarah-neufeld-never.html

La fonoscopia (es)
http://www.lafonoscopia.com/2016/01/30/colin-stetson-sarah-neufeld-never-were-the-way-she-was/