WHITE WILLOW - SIGNAL TO NOISE - 2006

This is an album of typically grandiose Nordic gothy-prog. White Willow have tweaked their sound and membership a bit on each album and present a new breathy female singer here. White Willow have settled on a sound very similar to what Paatos is doing, and with a similar high quality. The mostly mid tempo songs have definite melodic pop influences, particularly on tracks like Joyride and acoustic ballad The Dark Road, mixed with symphonic prog and dream pop. White Willow, though melancholy, are perhaps a little more cheery than Paatos- uplifting melodies abound, in fact sometimes reminding me of the old psych- goth-pop band All About Eve. There is some nice playing on this album, which features some good sized dollops of mellotron (particularly on the aformentioned Dark Road) and some tasteful guitar soloing (The Lingering). A very pretty album and a worthy addition to any modern symphonic collection or for those with a taste for melodic female singers.
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