My French sucks however what I can gather from the three french words that I know, it says: That the group MrNorth is hard to classify. It gives your history i.e. where you're from, family history brothers O'Malley, cousin Smith and Adrian, what instruments you play, your coming of age story.... went to Italy and now live in New York. They compare you to U2 Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, blues lyrics and great key board sounds, with orchestra arrangements. I think they liked the CD (but they would be crazy not to LOL), however I have a friend who really speaks french (she's from France) and I'll get her to translate the article for you :-).
 

Copied text to AltaVista for translation: ( not sure how good the translation is)


MrNorth - Fear & Chronic Desire written by Marc M appeared 18.11.2007 00:19:41 Second album for a group difficult to classify. "MrNorth".. only the name of the group already... "Mr Nord"? The two terms are attached. Is this a reference to film of Danny Huston of 1988, having for subject a so-called healer-miracle and where figure a pleïade of legends of Hollywood (Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, etc)? Funny of history that that of this group of Irishman, in whom two brothers play (Emmett O' Malley with the guitar, Oisin O' Malley with low and the keyboards), their cousin (Smith Hake, song and guitars) and the beater Adrian Mondaunt which is the only one not to form part of the family. Their destiny brought to play in Italy where them reputation grew, then in the USA, and they from now on emigrated in New York. MrNorth mixes with the elements a priori not very usual: a rock'n'roll sometimes inspired by traditional U2 (in particular on "Where No one else edge see"), even by other more contemporary formations rock'n'roll, traces of progressive rock'n'roll (once again a certain aspect of Pink Floyd comes to mind), a pop melancholic person with the tragic accents, the whole arranged with guitars sometimes rather thorny, sometimes more bluesy and lyric, a piano and synthés frequently used and finally of the sumptuous orchestral arrangements on the occasion! Moreover, their disc starts by beautiful instrumental very symphonic, which will be revisited further! And especially much of strong melodies, often developed in pieces from approximately 5-6 minutes, even more. Here an at the same time modern mixture and with the very organic sound: the battery is felted and powerful at the same time, low thundering dominates almost certain titles, a little with the way of Chris Squire and its famous Rickenbecker (and aileurs Oisin O' Malley plays indeed on large low Rickenbecker!). The music on "Fear & Desire" draws from the Seventies and Eighties and will recall to some the Americans of The Secret Machines, but in less rock'n'roll (still that the discrete phantom of Led zeppelin planes above of more than one passage, as at the latter). Certain pieces are developed enough, and sometimes connected, like slow the and lyric one "Coils is" with the almost punk and always tragic "For the cheaters and the cheated" which evokes MUSE by its direction of contrast between verses tended, with keyboards and clear guitars, broken by refrains saturated and full with disproportion, without speaking about a station-wagon solemn and typified traditional with the piano in the medium... MrNorth has an unquestionable asset: the emotion which emerges from voice Smith the Hake. This last has a stamp which will point out sometimes Bono, but in more éraillé, emphasized by a generous réverbe... This a little broken voice which cherishes, moves and raises sometimes, powerful and fragile at the same time, like a desperate complaint (cf the final one of "Rope", inter alia). The splendid ballades "Sleeping dogs" and "For the moment" are two tops of the album, with their vocal melodies which are printed instantaneously in the spirit of the listener. And then it there the very long one "In my country" (9:57) that of aucuns will be able to find too long besides, repetitive on the end, a long instrumental slip with a piano which knits the same obsessing reason, introduced by low powerful and melody, with a majestic orchestration and this song, melancholic person and impassioned, sometimes despaired. MrNorth thus has capable characteristics to attract a very varied public to them... A group whose Outre-Atlantique success seems certainly to forecast of a true return to a music rock'n'roll, but also sophisticated, whose sound is a good compromise between melody, aggressiveness, passion and refined esthetism. A formation to be followed definitively closely.
 

i agree with Creegirl.....my French sucks too, but I do understand most of what was written... and she got the jist of it right.....they liked the CD and Colin's voice....espeically on Sleeping Dogs and For the Moment....they thought In my Country was too long and repetitive at the end....but overall they thought your band deserved attention.....
 

In English

For all our Gaul fans out there... Current mood: happy Category: Music Here's has review of Fear & Desire from has French music site. Does this reviewer like the album?... we cuts No idea! MrNorth - Fear & Chronic Desire written by Marc M appeared 18.11.2007 00:19:41 Second album for a group difficult to classify. "MrNorth".. only the name of the group already... "Monsior Nord" ? The two terms are attached. Is this a reference to film of Danny Huston of 1988, having for subject a so-called healer-miracle and where figure a pleïade of legends d'Hollywood (Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, etc)? Funny d'histoire that that of this group d'Irlandais, in which two brothers play (Emmett O'Malley with the guitar, Oisin O'Malley with low and the keyboards), their cousin (Smith Hake, song and guitars) and the beater Adrian Mondaunt which is the only one not to form part of the family. Their destiny brought to play in Italy where them reputation grew, then in the USA, and they from now on emigrated in New York. MrNorth mixes with the elements a priori not very usual: a rock'n'roll sometimes inspired by traditional U2 (in particular on "Where No one else edge see"), even by d'autres more contemporary formations rock'n'roll, of the traces of progressive rock'n'roll (once again a certain aspect of Pink Floyd comes to l'esprit), a pop melancholic person with the tragic accents, the whole arranged with guitars sometimes rather thorny, sometimes more bluesy and lyric, a piano and synthés frequently used and finally of the sumptuous orchestral arrangements with l'occasion! D'ailleurs, their disc starts by beautiful instrumental very symphonic, which will be revisited further! And especially much of strong melodies, often developed in pieces d'environ 5-6 minutes, even more. Here an at the same time modern mixture and with the very organic sound: the battery is felted and powerful at the same time, low thundering dominates almost certain titles, a little with the way of Chris Squire and its famous Rickenbecker (and d'aileurs Oisin O'Malley plays indeed on large low Rickenbecker!). Music on "Fear & Desire" draw from the Seventies and Eighties and will recall to some the Americans of The Secret Machines, but in less rock'n'roll (still that the discrete phantom of Led zeppelin planes above moreover d'un passage, as at the latter). Certain pieces are developed enough, and sometimes connected, like slow and lyric the "Love is" with the almost punk and always tragic "For the cheaters and the cheated" who evokes MUSE by his direction of contrast between verses tended, with keyboards and clear guitars, broken by refrains saturated and full with disproportion, without speaking d'un station-wagon solemn and typified traditional with the piano in the medium... MrNorth has an unquestionable asset: l'émotion which is released from voice Smith the Hake. This last has a stamp which will point out sometimes Bono, but in more éraillé, emphasized by a generous réverbe... This a little broken voice which cherishes, moves and s'élève sometimes, powerful and fragile at the same time, like a desperate complaint (cf the final one of "Rope", inter alia). Splendid ballades "Sleeping dogs" and "For the moment" are two tops of l'album, with their vocal melodies which s'impriment instantaneously in l'esprit of l auditor. And then it there the very long "In my country" (9:57) that d'aucuns will be able to find d'ailleurs too long, repetitive on the end, a long instrumental slip with a piano who knits the same obsessing reason, introduced by low powerful and melody, with a majestic orchestration and this song, melancholic person and impassioned, sometimes despaired. MrNorth thus has capable characteristics to attract a very varied public to them... A group whose Outre-Atlantique success seems certainly to forecast d'un true return to a music rock'n'roll, but also sophisticated, whose sound is a good compromise between melody, aggressiveness, passion and refined esthetism. A formation to be followed definitively closely
 

Hello,

What a"friend" I am... not been to your page for a couple of months.. too busy even to write my music articles... which depresses me no end :o(
But too bad, I was so glad to see my review appear on your blog this afternoon that I had to take the time to translate it myself for you, although some courageous people tried it way before me !
Maybe it's a bit of a litteral translation sometimes, because my ..style.. in English isn't as "sophisticated" as it can be in French. But, anyway, I hope you'll enjoy reading it.

I definitely liked the album - in spite of the voice that, believe it or not, is usually not the type of voice that I like... But Colin has got something that hit my heart. This usic has got guts and finesse at the same time. It's rare.


I also write in a progressive rock fanzine and I listed "Fear & Desire" as my 5th or 6th best album of the year in My yearly Top 10.

The boss of www. musicwaves. fr listed it as his Nr 1 favourite release of 2007 (It's him who made me discover the band, by the way).


I'm really eager to listen to your next album.

And by the way, I'm still curious about the origin of the band's name... ;o)

All the best,
Marc

_________________________________


Review published on www. musicwaves. fr (progressive, metal, rock webzine)

MrNorth : Fear & Desire (Rock Ridge Records)
Second album for a band that is pretty hard to classify. "Mr North"… Just the name itself for a start… [French translation of Mr North : "Monsieur Nord"] ? The two parts of the name are attached. Is it a reference to Danny Houston's movie from 1988, whose topic is about a so-called miracle healer and where are featured a pleiad of famous Hollywood legends (Robert Mitchhum, Lauren Baccall, etc.
) ?
This is a pretty unusual story, the one of this Irish band, comprising two brothers (Emmet O'Malley on guitar, Oisin O'Malley on bass and keyboards), their cousin (Colin Smith, on vocals and guitars) and the drummer Adrian Mondaunt, who is the only one that doesn't belong to the family. Their fate lead them to play in Italy, where their reputation grew, then to the USA, and they have now settled in New York.

MrNorth blends some various elements in an unusual way : rock music inspired sometimes by the traditional side of U2 (noticeably on "No one else can see"), or by more contemporary bands, traces of progressive rock (one more time, a tinge of Pink Floyd comes to mind), some melancholy pop with a tragic edge, the whole arranged with guitars that can, sometimes, sound a bit dirty [a "thorny sound", we'd say here], but also that can be lyrical and bluesier, some frequent piano and synths and, finally, some occasional but lavish orchestral arrangements ! Indeed, their album starts with a beautiful symphonic instrumental, whose theme will be revisited later ! Above all, we have a lot of strong melodies, often developped in 5 or 6 minute-long tracks, or even longer ones.
Here's a blend of sounds at the same time modern and organic : the drums are soft and powerful at the same time, the rumbling bass guitar predominates on certain tracks, a little bit in the ..style.. of Chris Squire with his famous Rickenbecker (and by the way, Oisin O'Malley actually plays a big Rickenbecker bass guitar !). The music on "Fear & Desire" has got some roots in the 70's and 80's and will remind certain people of the Americans from The Secret Machines, (maybe less rock-sounding, although the discreet ghost of Led Zeppelin glides over more than one passage, as it is the case with the latters).
Some tracks are really developped, sometimes connected together, like the slow and lyrical "Love is" with the almost punk and still tragic "For the cheaters and the cheated", that reminds me of Muse with its sense of contrast between tensed verses, featuring clean guitar and keyboards, and the choruses, saturated and full of excess, not forgetting a solemn, almost classical-sounding break on piano in the middle of the song…
MrNorth has got a strong asset : it's the emotion emanating from Colin Smith's voice.
The latter has got a voice that will maybe reminds some listeners of Bono, in a slightly ruskier ..style.., but brought out by a generous amount of reverb… that slightly broken voice caresses, moves and protests sometimes, powerful and fragile at the same time, like a desperate moan (cf. the final section of "Rope", among other examples).

The two magnificent ballads "Sleeping dogs" and "For the moment" are two highlights of the album, with their vocal melodies that engrave themselves immediately into the listener's mind.

And then, there is the very long "In my country" (9:57), which some will maybe find a tad too long, repetitive near the end, a long instrumental slip with a piano that keeps playing [litterally : "knitting"] the same haunting melody, introduced by a powerful and melodic bass motif, featuring a majestic orchestration and the melancholy, passionate, sometimes desparate singing.

MrNorth have got some characteristics that could attract a very diverse audience… a band whose success across the Atlantic seems to announce a real return to some music that belongs to rock but is at the same time sophisticated, whose sound is a good compromise between melody and aggressiveness, passion and a refined estheticism.

A band that is definitely one to be followed closely.

Marc Moingeon.