Molly Zenobia

"Molly's specialized vocal style is like looking into the hypnotic eyes of a snake. Time flies and suddenly when you reach the end of a track, you don't know where you are. From the bass-piano depths of 'Whirlpool' we are launched into the keyboard caverns of 'Mermaid' where many mournful voices reflect themselves from wall to wall, never giving a direction, but beautifully rendering these pictures of either self-enforced solace or a dreamy interpretation of the languid life of bubbly creatures of the deep... Whatever mood Molly enraptures us with, she wants you to remember that it is the voice that makes the peace. I've not heard gothic (should you call it that) this pristine since Desar and the days of Savatage sparks. On certain tracks, like 'King Aeolus,' Molly's voice is so soft you think it just might break, but then she brings in the whole band and gets angry for a second. Like a brilliant foreign film, you can't second guess her." - The Muse's Muse

This CD is just breath-taking. That is the best way to describe this. “Wind Chains” has the piano reminiscent of Tori Amos and the raspy, deep, sensual voice of Fiona Apple yet it has the dream like quality that is all it’s own. “Wind Chains” has a vast combination of all genres of music put together in an unbelievable way. I’ve never heard anything like it. It is exquisitely and refreshingly different. Zenobia’s voice is as haunting as a dark forest yet as beautiful and immaculate as a blanket of freshly fallen snow. Molly Zenobia is revolutionary.” - glittergrrrls

Can I just say I've made a most serendipitous discovery. I was just sitting here clearing my plate of waiting reviews, when I pick up this cd "Wind Chains" by Molly Zenobia. Intriguing album cover of a fair, dark haired girl staring back at me through a filter of blue. It almost looks post-mortem...She certainly "looks" goth.

Intrigued, I slide the disc into my player. A brief flourish of an electro intro, before the piano and yes, the voice is introduced. This is an old voice, a lived in voice. She could very well be channelinglong dead songstresses of the golden age of Jazz and Blues. She possesses an old worldliness, and a new world edginess that makes for an irresistable combination. Her piano is a living, breathing extension of her already more than adequate means of expression. It breathes, swells, moans, and weeps.

I'm tempted to compare her to artists I already know and love, as a means of reference. However, Molly Zenobia deserves more than comparisons. She is doubtless influenced, and yet still an original that will only grow more so with time. She may not be "goth" by popular definition. But, I've always held to the idea that goth is a view of the world and feelings that spring from that unique view, that differentiate one from the masses living at life's surface.. And so, I embrace this dark hued music as the familiar messanger of my own heart. Below are just a few favorites off an album by no means spare in exquisite offerings.

FROZEN - Is the opening track on this disc, and it writhes in the exposure of a wound, still raw. Drawn to and repelled by one another, how can love prevail against the defenses and inconsistency of emotional unavailibility? If it's going to happen, it's got to happen soon. "Frozen"
is a particularly effective lament and plea in one.

PORCUPINE - is a smokey, lilting inventory of a love life, perhaps. I read porcupine, as an aka for prick. The possibilities aren't inspiring, but she is conscious of the fact that her own investment in these "pricks" isn't that serious. She doesn't know any more about her own expectations, than they do about fulfilling them..."I'm walking, I'm talking, I can't see where I'm going." This is a frequent replay, great song!

FADE - Zenobia's voice opens this chiller up, and then her piano chimes in, in assent. It is another moving lullaby of loss and regret. She struggles with the recurrent theme of two lives passing and never meeting, strangers in the night. It is short, but it says what I've found her to say all to articulately.

As I close out this sojourn with Molly Zenobia, I'd like to encourage any lover of piano, vocals, and great song writing to delve into this deep, still, and still disturbing well. This is thoughtful, meditative
music, cloth cut from the coat of all our experience.
2/2/03 - BlackOrpheus

Molly Zenobia is by turns surspising, scary, and intricate. Her voice slices her piano-based songs into little pieces with surgical precision. She plays her instrument of choice like she was born to do it. Ghostly moans and water splashes adorn the frosty "Mermaids". She makes her snakelike whisper resonate on "Silent Spring". Zenobia shares a few traits with the reigning queen of the piano, Tori Amos; but the style is all her own.
If "Wind Chains" had a color it would be an icy blue with pitch black highlights. The music on it is slow, with a lot of feeling and enough twists and turns to make it challenging. Zenobia takes you down the tunnels of her mind and it's a rollercoaster ride. She is a natural born chiller. If gothic music lived up to it's name this is what it would sound like. - Opus

Molly Zenobia is a singer, songwriter and pianist. If you've heard any of the post-Lilith Fair crop of female singer-songwriters, you probably won't be surprised by anything on Wind Chains -- but Zenobia pulls this stuff off with unusual style and skill, injecting a solid measure of individuality into a genre that's been prone to cookie-cutter personalities.

Most listeners will be able to recognize elements of Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos and Aimee Mann in Zenobia's music. The Tori Amos comparison almost goes without saying; both Amos and Zenobia favor the piano, and their vocal styles are similar. Fortunately, Zenobia lacks the overpowering emotional baggage that made listening to Amos' last few albums such a chore. You'll recognize the delicate, occasionally blustery piano/vocal combination used on "Porcelain" and "Fade", as well as the heavy, swaggering chords of "Porcupine", though Zenobia plays more confidently, well aware that she has many more weapons in her musical arsenal. Vocally, Zenobia is less prone to showy, operatic acrobatics, but both performers tend to snarl through sibilant phrases...which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

You'll hear a little McLachlan in Zenobia's sweet, occasionally ethereal non-verbal vocalizations -- see "Mermaid" and "Lullabee" -- and in her tendency to break extended vowels into two syllables (i.e. "Ligh-ight"), but the similarity is purely stylistic. Likewise, "Tombstone"'s wry delivery, waltz-like tempo and declarative piano recall Aimee Mann's recent work, though "Bubblegum" takes this orchestral pop structure a step further.

"Bubblegum" deserves particular note; it's a love-it-or-hate-it effort, with a distinctive refrain powered by an overdriven guitar and a distinctive, twanky eighties-style keyboard. Blurry, almost psychedelic guitar licks help to sustain the song's dreamlike quality. Ultimately, the refrain makes the song a lot "rougher" than most singer-songwriter stuff, helping Zenobia to forge a unique imprint.

Wind Chains' bag of tricks isn't empty yet. The opening track, "Frozen", combines a mid-tempo beat with some hauntingly delicate piano (once again hinting at McLachlan). The fuzzed-out guitar lurks in the background of the refrain, inserting a few choice jabs, while acoustic guitar and cascading drums add texture. It's a strong start, beginning the record on a richly cinematic note. "Hello" showcases Zenobia's nimble fingers; she jumps from a classical-style tune to some pop keyboard riffing, then spills into another Mann-esque syncopated refrain, punctuated by percussive strumming on muted guitar strings. "Silent Spring" leads with another heavy, gritty percussion loop, covering it with layered vocals and offering a neat little piano interlude at the midpoint, while "Night Light" concludes the album with a mellow epic, its muted piano and hushed vocals aptly conveying late-night introspection.

It's difficult to establish a unique sound when you're working in a genre that has evolved into a brand. While Zenobia's chosen instrument and vocal style are favored by other, better-known performers, Wind Chains carries a healthy dose of individuality and innovation along with its requisite measure of skill. By making a sincere effort to reach beyond the sound established by other female singer-songwriters, rather than simply riding their coattails to modest success, Zenobia establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with -- and an artist to watch. - Splendid