Projekt Records
1994
Walk Softly, A Dream Lies Here
About This Album
This Ascension's move to Projekt Records after the demise of their Tess label is a wise one. For one, Sam Rosenthal reissued the band's back catalog and has invested in their continually maturing, ever-evolving sound. Walk Softly, a Dream Lies Here, despite its immersion on the gothic ambiences and dynamics of previous efforts, is still perhaps the band's most progressive and diverse recording. "Adonis," the gorgeous, darker-than-blue drum/keyboard/guitar instrumental that opens the disc, is a movement of sublime grace and rock & roll elegance. There are few chord changes, and as the deep tom-tom rolls move the tune forward, guitars and keyboards paint in the frame with emotion, passion, and grace. Kevin Serra's Joy Division influence suits the band well this time out, as Dru counters with an inflection that is at once both transcendentally beautiful yet immersed in a folkiness that brings her lyrical considerations down to the listener with a razor-sharp point without losing any of their seductive power. Sally Barr's bass playing is a force as well, acting not only in concert with but as an extension of Matt Ballesteros' drumming. She punches the notes home, shoving them up under the chord changes even as she directs them, and gives Dru a solid platform from which to lilt, soar, cress, and careen through the mix.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 5)

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