Shroud

Volume One of Delerium's Archives series includes selections from four early albums: Faces, Forms & Illusions; Morpheus; Syrophenikan; and Stone Tower. Fans will obviously be familiar with this material already, but it's nevertheless an uncovering of the band's interesting, often eerie roots. The first two albums are disquietingly spare, often relying on minimal percussion and echoing soundscapes to get their point across. Standouts include "Fragments of Fear," and the comparably upbeat, light industrial thud of "Sword." 1991's Syrophenikan vacillates between spooky navel-gazing (the Coil-ish "Shroud"), and synth-heavy, mid-tempo experimentation ("Of the Tribe"), while Archives, Vol. 1 closes with the cathedrals-collapsing-in-slow-motion dirges of Stone Tower. Highly recommended for Delerium completists.

Every new album from Ani DiFranco gives listeners a reason to get excited about music all over again, and her latest, Reprieve, is certainly no exception. Across 12 tracks, DiFranco ignites more of her signature blend of poetry, politics and musicianship. Ani and touring bassist Todd Sickafoose are the only two players on the new album - something you'd never guess from it's rich and detailed sound. In addition to the usual array of acoustic and electric guitars, Ani can be heard on keyboards, drums, and other instruments, while Todd contributes bass, wurlitzer, pump organ, piano and "fakey-bakey" trumpet and strings. The album was tracked in her New Orleans studio in early 2005 during a break in her usually heavy touring schedule. Forced to leave the master recordings behind before Hurricane Katrina, she drove back into the city to retrieve them just three days after the levees broke. From there she headed back to overdub in her hometown of Buffalo with whatever instruments happened to be on hand.

This album has very heavy percussion, and mixes them with haunting, and fleeting "ghost sound" synth samples. Like many of Delerium's early albums, it seems to tell a story, without words.