The Spill Review: Red Trees
Lisa Papineau
Red Trees
Sargent House
“By taking a look at Lisa Papineau’s list of previous work, which includes working with Jun Miyake and The Mars Volta, one would assume that her debut solo album, Red Trees, would be an experimental and bizarre piece of work – and one would be right. Papineau’s voice is strikingly beautiful, quiet with a sharp edge and it is regretful that more of it is not heard on this album. Most of the songs on Red Trees are predominantly instrumental with only some backing vocals. A few of her songs are offbeat and experimental while still managing to be musical, while others are just downright weird – but in the best way possible. “Annette Tessier” is a beautifully eerie peace, consisting of soft guitars and vocal harmonies. Most of the album, however, more closely resembles “Gay Can’t Wait Forever”, a song dominated by harsh synthesizers, a snare drum and a repetitive melody that leaves you with an uneasy feeling. All in all, each song is an individual experience, but they all manage to create one unique and cohesive concept as an album.
