Rendered on the sleeve as
filigree & shadow,
this was the second of three albums released by
This Mortal Coil. It is also my personal
favorite, combining the different textures and
soundscapes of the first album with a more unified
theme and direction. In fact, it's nearly a
concept album, being one of the few albums that
I can listen to straight through. It feels like a
musical journey, if I have the strength to make it
all the way through. (In college, one of my
coping strategies was to engage in musical therapy:
turn off all the lights, kick everyone else out of
the house, crank up the volume, drink heavily, listen to
this album at painful volumes, and cry my heart out.)
The recurring personnel on this recording were:
Track listing:
- Velvet Belly (1:20)
- The Jeweller (3:16)
- Ivy and Neet (4:49)
- Meniscus (2:28)
- Tears (0:22)
- Tarantula (4:59)
- My Father (5:58)
- Come Here My Love (3:42)
- At First, and Then (1:59)
- Strength of Strings (4:41)
- Morning Glory (2:57)
- Inch-Blue (1:08)
- I Want to Live (4:05)
- Mama K (1) (0:53)
- Filigree & Shadow (1:20)
- Firebrothers (3:54)
- Thaïs (1) (1:09)
- I Must Have Been Blind (3:30)
- A Heart of Glass (3:46)
- Alone (4:14)
- Mama K (2) (0:34)
- The Horizon Bleeds and Sucks its Thumb (2:53)
- Drugs (3:10)
- Red Rain (3:53)
- Thaïs (2) (3:15)
As I tried to describe above, the entire album is
fantastic. If I had to pick out my favorite tracks,
I would select "The Jeweller" and "Tarantula" as
starters, with the continuous pair "Inch-blue" and
"I Want To Live" forming the pinnacle of this
emotional and musical voyage.