Snow And Voices

SNOW & VOICES: WHAT THE BODY WAS MADE FOR (Ruby Elastic)

Second album from LA-based former solo singer Lauri Kranz, along with musical partner Jebin Bruni, producer/”architect” Darrell Thorp, and a team of musicians that includes Joey Waronker on percussion, improves substantially on their already impressive 2005 debut. Kranz’s keenly-enunciated voice can sound as frail as a feather in the wind, but the instrumentation – much of it in the form of electronic sound sculptures - toughens things up enough to lift Snow & Voices into territory partially occupied by Portishead. And while the lyrical content is frequently dark and dubious (“Hearts Were Made To Be Broken,” “Rainstorm”), the quality of the melodies and their arrangements ensures that the overall effect is one of solace and comfort. The cover of the Doors “Touch Me” is sublime.

Highlight: The finale “All I Want,” featuring only vocals and a distorted piano, and consumed lyrically by self-doubt and obsession, is a masterpiece, as fine a ballad as I heard last year. What makes it even more profound is that after several listens I still can’t tell if it’s a song about requited or unrequited love. - ijamming

The LA-based duo Snow & Voices also released their third CD Anything That Moves on their own independent Elastic Ruby Records. Singer-songwriter Lauri Kranz and her collaborating multi-instrumentalist partner Jebin Bruni have created a moody, sonic palate that hints at the work of Mazzy Star or Aimee Mann, just with fewer guitars and more electronic flourishes. It’s a dream-like CD chock full of melancholy, dreamy pop tunes with titles like “Everything Coming Apart,” “Blue,” “The Letting Go,” “Liar,” and “Please Be My Lover.” The one cover tune is Red House Painters’s “Mistress.” While not the most uplifting, Anything That Moves provides perfect chill out music--or a great breakup album. - laist

Slightly haunting, slighty deep. The new album from Los Angeles duo Snow & Voices is a breath of fresh air for this listener. Echoing vocals take centre stage with bellowing piano melodies which magically twist and weave within each other. Lead singer Lauri Kranz has a voice to die for. Think Imogen Heap meets Dido and you would probably have hit the nail on the head. Such is her voice the listener is encaptured with every single note and these days that is getting rarer to find. Tracks like "Everything Coming Apart" and the track that got my attention "I Am A Storm" are great examples of how pulsating rythyms can emphasise such a delicate voice. With strong bass lines and tantalising dream pop like guitar riffs handed to you on a platter from Jebin Bruni, you find yourself floating above the music looking down at the notes as they drift on pass as if they were boats on a river. The new album, "Anything That Moves" is a moving collection of well structured, well written alternative pop tunes that is sure to grab your attention. If you do one thing right this year, make sure it's checking out this band. You won't regret it.
- Monthy Indie Mixtapes

Beat Surrender gets an increasing amount of emails these days, not all the music "fits" the blog and by definition my personal taste but time permitting I always try to take a listen to everything that drops into my inbox and there are occasions where something on the fringes catches my attention and Snow & Voices new album Anything That Moves was one of them, the promo track that got my attention was Maybe Finland and straight of I was captivated by the vocal of Lauri Kranz.


Kranz' has a talented song-writing partner, multi-instrumentalist / producer Jebin Bruni (Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple) and together with a supporting cast of LA musicians they've come up with a nine track album of LA dream pop described as "a multi-layered aural landscape", not a bad summary. Without prior knowledge of the band I'd convinced myself they were from Scandinavia and not California (thrown off the scent by the first track title and band name maybe?), there's no L.A. sunshine to be found here and listening between dusk and darkness is recommended - Kranz' vocal and the albums melancholy fit that time of day perfectly. The album is released independently on the bands own label on May 25th.
- Beat Surrender

If you’ve been following us regularly you’ve probably noticed that the vast majority of songs featured here so far have had male vocalists.


I promise you that this has not been intentional, and is not a manifestation of my preference for male singers over female. It just so happens that a lot of the new music I’ve been finding has had dudes singing.

So that makes this song a welcome change of pace.

This is a beautifully sung track by Lauri Kranz of Snow & Voices, a band out of Los Angeles that just released their third album. Enjoy. - Indie Christmas

When I first heard Snow & Voices' new single "Maybe Finland", I instantly assumed the band hailed from the Nordic country, as the song evoked notions of ethereal landscapes and bleak winters. In reality, the dream pop duo of singer-songwriter Lauri Kranz and multi-instrumentalist Jebin Bruni are based in sunny Los Angeles, nevertheless they know a thing or two about adequately capturing the feeling of melancholy. Their image is reminiscent of fellow dream pop artists Beach House, but Kranz's soothing voice holds its own weight.

Come May 25, Snow & Voices will release their third CD Anything That Moves on their own independent Elastic Ruby Records and it will distributed by Junketboy/Coalition of Independent Music Stores. You can preview "Maybe Finland" and "I Am A Storm" (another interesting teaser for the new album) below.
- I Know That I'm Right

"Come let the water cover me up,” Lauri Kranz sings early on Snow and Voices’ second album. Repeating that line, Kranz’s vocals (through the magic of multi-tracking) begin to envelop her, the cascading melody becoming a perfect representation of the covering she seeks. The moment is also a fitting symbol of the sounds offered by the ensemble, essentially a duo (Jebin Bruni acts as songwriting partner and multi-instrumentalist). Kranz and Bruni blanket the listener in warm, ethereal,ambient sound at every turn, their keyboard-driven tracks consistently lush and lilting. Sharing the same philosophy, other songs sparkle and stand out: “Something Good”, “Rainstorm” and the cello-led “Song 10”.

Snow and Voices only deviate from the subtle and soothing at one notable point—a wonderful cover of the Doors’ “Touch Me”. The song allows Kranz to spread her wings and show a sensuous side that is not aggressively seductive, but paints her as a quietly determined siren. It’s a welcome reprieve because as beautiful and tender as the album is, the consistently slow and soft dynamic gets wearying by album’s end. Overall, the sonic purity of Snow and Voices is a wonderful thing to be wrapped up in but emerging from even the warmest covering is necessary from time to time.


- PopMatters

City of Angels resident Lauri Kranz has a couple of forgotten solo albums under her belt; her new act Snow & Voices should not, in any just world, suffer the same fate. Kranz’ songs of exceptional beauty are aided by quietly quality arrangements from multi-instrumentalists Jebin Bruni and Buddy Judge, and abetted with crystalline production from Nigel Godrich’s engineer Darrell Thorp, all of which helps lift tracks like ‘A Dream Of Happiness’ and ‘You Are Beside Me’ from bed-sit ballads to potential AAA radio hits, or at least good company for fans of Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. But while Lauri’s voice shimmers with the quality beloved by soft FM stations everywhere, it never turns saccharine; and though the grand pianos and synthesized string sections follow conventional patterns of dynamics, Snow & Voices remains anything but predictable. The gorgeously sad ‘Goodnight New York’ (name-checked in a previous HitList) offers up a tender view of the Manhattan skyline, while the dirty sultry rock of ‘In Pieces Through The Door’ clarifies that Snow & Voices is an indie act at heart. Finally, proving that great songwriters are never scared to tackle great songs, Kranz offers a stripped-to-the-soul reworking of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’. Stevie Nicks never sounded so naked. - iJamming!

Lauri Kranz and Jebin Bruni, have been working together since 2000, but their band Snow & Voices officially formed in 2004 after the duo was given studio time by Jeffrey Cain, of the band Remy Zero. Kranz and Bruni began working with acclaimed producer Darrell Thorp by mere chance after their own engineer was unable to make it to the studio that day. Thorp is best known for his work with Radiohead and Beck.
Snow & Voices' first album features only Kranz, Bruni, and Ric Menck on drums. However, their second album, What The Body Was Made For, showcases the talents of not only Kranz, Bruni, and Menck, but many other musicians who are associated with other well known musical acts, such as percussionist Joey Waronker of Beck and R.E.M. fame, and cellist Vanessa Freebairin-Smith, who has worked with Gnarls Barkley.

What The Body Was Made For truly reinforces the name Snow & Voices, in a way that will make the listener appreciate it, because this album really does sound like it is something that should be listened to on a snowy, winter day. Although all of the songs have a similar feel, there is not a weak track on this album. What The Body Was Made For also does a lovely job of blending classical instruments with the more traditional folk instruments and vocals.

It is intriguing that this album is released in the middle of the summer, because after listening to What The Body Was Made For, listeners will expect to see a beautiful snow scene, worthy of a Christmas card, when they walk outside. What The Body Was Made For will be released on July 1st, on Snow & Voices own record label, Elastic Ruby. - aced magazine

Snow & voices
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Snow & Voices is a Los Angeles-based dream pop band that was formed out of solo sessions for singer/songwriters Lauri Kranz and Jebin Bruni.
The group's first album, the eponymous Snow & Voices, was released in 2005 on Bird Song Recordings. Snow & Voices' sophomore effort, What the Body Was Made For, will be released on their own label, Elastic Ruby, in July 2008.
The album was co-produced by Bruni and Darrell Thorp (Radiohead) and features musical contributions by Jeffrey Cain (Remy Zero), Joey Waronker (Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, REM) and Ric Menck (Matthew Sweet, Mia Doi Todd).

Discography
Snow & Voices (Bird Song Recordings, 2005)
What The Body Was Made For (Elastic Ruby Records, 2008) - Wikipedia

Snow & Voices is essentially the work of one Lauri Kranz. Lauri, with the help of her friend Jebin Bruni, create gorgeous pop songs augmented by a heap of instruments (everything from cello to pedal steel . After releasing 2 records under her own name she began the Snow & Voices moniker in 2005 with the release of her first S & V record (a S/T release on Ric Menck's Birdsong label). This year has seen the release of her latest record, WHAT THE BODY WAS MADE FOR (released on her own Elastic Ruby label). Dig in and be enlightened......



Was music a big part of your house while growing up? Where did you grow up?
My parents had very few albums in the house. They had The Beatles/1962-1966 album, which I played several times a day. My mother had a couple of Pat Boone albums. She told me that when she was growing up the nice girls listened to Pat Boone and the bad girls listened to Elvis. I didn't spend much time with the Pat Boone records. I grew up in a small town outside of Hartford, CT. My only access to new music was the local top 40 station. I was very frustrated with how few songs I wanted to hear on that station but even so, I found a few artists to treasure like Prince. His Purple Rain tour came to town and it was one of the first concerts I saw. It was incredible.

What was the first record you remember buying with your own money?
The first album I bought was Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run. I knew every word to every song on that album. I listened to it endlessly. I got lost inside the songs – the words the melodies. I found my escape in that album and into music.

When did you first begin writing songs?
I began writing songs when I was in elementary school. Maybe around 5th grade. I wrote in journals. My parents found them and sent me to a child specialist. They were very concerned with what I was writing about and thought maybe I needed someone to talk to.

When/why did you go from your own name to the Snow & Voices moniker?
When we went into the studio to record in 2000 the process felt much more like a band then a solo project. Jebin and Ric and I had been playing together for years. We talked a lot about the direction we wanted to take that album in. It was a natural evolution that it should go from a solo project to a band.

How did you end up on Ric Menck's Birdsong Records for your previous record? Tell us one thing about Ric that we might not know.
When we finished recording the album we released in 2000, Ric said he would like to put it out on Birdsong. I think the sensibility of that album fit in well with what Ric was doing with the label.

Ric is a pretty private person. I think in this day and age we all should be very careful about what we want to reveal about ourselves and each other. One of the greatest things that we possess is our privacy. I think it is worth protecting.



Was there any major differences in the record of that record and your latest, WHAT THE BODY WAS MADE FOR?
With What The Body Was Made For, I came into the studio with words and melodies and sang them to Jebin. Jebin would then start creating the music. All of the songs on the new album started this way.

How has Jebin Bruni helped your music career?
It's impossible to imagine what the music would be like without Jebin. He is integral to the songs, to the process, to the recording, to it all.

Do you feel part of any kind of scene in L.A.?
Scenes are uncomfortable for me. I like what can happen when no one is paying attention.

What is one song you wish you'd written?
'My Body is a Cage' by Arcade Fire

One performer (alive or dead) you wish you could perform with?
Thom Yorke

Your top 10 desert island discs?
Miles Davis Ascenseur pour L'echafaud
Radiohead O.K. Computer
Stina Nordenstam And She Closed Her Eyes
Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks
Sun Kil Moon Ghosts of the Great Highway
PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love
Rickie Lee Jones Pirates
Bob Marley Exodus
Simon & Garfunkel Bookends
Marvin Gaye What's Going On - Daggerzine