Strange Angels is sheer sonic poetry, one of the most amazing albums in any genre of music. The song Hiawatha is a vivid cinematic mix drawing on archetypes, modern myth and popular culture, incredibly powerful in the melody, instrumentation and dreamy images it evokes. Equally as exquisite as Hiawatha, The Dream Before unfolds its wistful philosophical musings in hauntingly beautiful imagery and melody lines. Ramon engages the listener with its hypnotic percussive textures and catchy tune; along with Strange Angels and My Eyes, two other melodic beauties, it comes closest to the traditional pop song. Coolsville with its classical structure, icy vocals and nature sounds reminds me a bit of Eurythmics circa Touch, whilst Baby Doll and Beautiful Red Dress have a quirky charm. This album is infused with a magic so unique, it’s hard to adequately convey its appeal or to make comparisons, but it shares a certain quirky, spiritual quality with the exquisite music of Jane Siberry and a certain power of witty observation with the defunct Bongwater. Unlike the earlier albums, Strange Angels showcases Laurie Anderson’s beautiful singing voice to full effect. This is sheer poetry, a blissful mix of pristine folk and pop vocals borne on electronic textures and mesmerising rhythms that shimmers with real soul and emotion.
