Ongiara

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funny how this came about
I recently bought a zune mp3 player and today I decided to hit the shuffle all button. After a few hours the song "your rocky spine" started playing. I liked it instantly but was a bit confused because I had never heard it before. Aparantly it came preloaded on my zune and beat the odds (I have over 6000 songs on it right now) to reach my ears. So the point of review is twofold 1)you'll like this in an instant 2) unbelievably preloaded songs on an mp3 player is good advertising.

Not quite cutting it.
Rather bland, which was my initial reaction to the first listen. One year later -- still bland. It's too bad, I really like this band. Their self-titled debut is a must for any fan that likes Iron & Wine. So, skip this and buy self titled.

excellent and haunting!
the greatlake swimmers new cd entitled ONGIARA is well worth a few hundred listens ! absolute perfection in writing and song production. I found myself captured by the sweet and lush melodies "changing colours" like the seasons of winter spring summer. the cd doesnt stray from its original beauty-it gets better and better! very good stuff and very lovely songs! lovely!

An absolute multigenerational classic
This is just a heartbreakingly beautiful, soulful folk album, like some kind of tear-jerking prayer. I listened to it continuously for the first month I owned it. The recording was made in what sounds like a big, wooden building with gorgeous acoustics, which adds to the resonance of both voice and instruments. While some compare the sound of GLS to Nick Drake, I think there is more innocence to their sound, which gives their music a thread of hope under the melancholy. I brought this into my high school classroom and my precocious, artistic students immediately embraced it, adding it to their own iPods. Great Lake Swimmers bridge traditional folk music, singer-songwriter lyricism and new folk. I think many ages and generations can appreciate this particular album.

Can I please ask for more?
The Great Lake Swimmers' Ongiara is probably the best new record I have bought in 2007, and believe me, I have bought many! As is always the case with great and beautiful music, I find no need to put a label on this record, it should be equally thrilling to those who like world music, alt country or rock music. Unfortunately I haven't been able to purchase the previous, self-titled record from this band but I'll definitely keep looking while also eagerly awaiting the next release. Gudjon, Iceland