So, I’m sort of a William Faulkner nerd, and I’d really like Balmorhea to score a film version of As I Lay Dying — hell, they could score film versions of every single Faulkner novel if they wanted. Balmorhea’s classical minimalism hints at memories of folk; their instrumental pieces rise and cascade in ways that somehow conjure uniquely Southern landscapes — dusty roads winding through hills, flooded rivers, magnolia trees and the like. Ideally, I’d listen to them while sitting on a creaky porch late at night while watching the stars, and their songs would crackle through an old radio. It’s music for dreams, music for often heartbreaking reality — shit, I’m getting hyperbolic.
Balmorhea are about to tour Europe to promote their most recent release on Western Vinyl, Live at Sint-Elisabethkerk (recordings from a show at Saint Elisabeth Church in Ghent, Belgium; check out “Untitled” for a hint of what it’s like), which follows up last year’s Constellations (TMT Review), and even though I’m pretty sure they won’t be playing any front porch shows, I’m sure they’ll be lovely nonetheless.
Dates:
10.26.11 - Gent, Belgium - Sint-Elisabethkerk *
10.28.11 - Brussels, Belgium - Bozar
10.29.11 - Strasbourg, France - Le Ceeac
10.30.11 - Luzern, Switzerland - Treibhaus
10.31.11 - Düdingen, Switzerland - Bad Bonn
11.02.11 - Milan, Italy - Scighera
11.03.11 - Genova, Italy - La Claque
11.04.11 - Ravenna, Italy - Bronson
11.05.11 - Pisa, Italy - Caracol
11.06.11 - Carpi, Italy - Mattatoio
11.07.11 - Rome, Italy - Init
11.08.11 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Koritu
11.09.11 - Vienna, Austria - B72
11.11.11 - Berlin, Germany - HBC
11.12.11 - Hannover, Germany - Feinkost Lampe
11.14.11 - Hamburg, Germany - Haus 73
11.15.11 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
* Christina Vantzou
• Balmorhea: http://balmorheamusic.com
• Western Vinyl: http://westernvinyl.com