NOE VENABLE: The World Is Bound By Secret Knots

noe venable

The World Is Bound By Secret Knots

© 2003 Noe Venable (641444934126)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

"To rise above the hideously overloaded pack, singer-songwriters need character. Noe has a Robert Altman movie's worth." - East Bay Express

tracks

1 riverWide
2 juniper
3 tower
4 Black Madonna
5 garden
6 is the spirit here?
7 midsummer night's dream
8 feral
9 simple song
10 wings again
11 lilies
12 doll comes to life
13 in the dark

notes

Jonezin' Music [02.13.03]
"Maybe this is what Sheryl Crow would have sounded like if she had chased art over commerce, or maybe it's like Suzanne Vega streaking through the woods on opium."

Ani difranco
"Ravishingly Melodic"

Pure Music [07.11.02]
"Here we have a homegrown, full blown young musical visionary, and a window into a part of the new San Francisco sound. This train is headed somewhere..."

Secret Knots was made over the course of a number of months at Eary Canal studios in Oakland, forged in the furnace, sheltered from chill winds and given ample time to come to fruition. Much of the CD is material which the NV Trio were playing and developing on the road with Ani Difranco, Boz Scaggs, and They Might be Giants, so if you saw the Trio at one of those shows and asked about a song, chances are it's on here.

Produced and engineered by bass player Todd Sickafoose, "The World Is Bound By Secret Knots" features Nels Cline(Geraldine Fibbers) on guitar, Alan Lin on violin, Dan Morris(Rufus Wainwright, Smashing Pumpkins) on percussion, and Andy Borger (Norah Jones) on drums.

Noe Venable's artistry runs strong and deep. The daughter of a writer father and a reading teacher mother, Noe grew up in San Francisco. As a small child, she made up songs, strumming along on an autoharp-- usually tunes about witches dancing around cauldrons, or about Pan and his nymphs and other characters from Greek mythology. As a high school student, she obsessed over making paper maché mermaids. As a college student, she majored in playwriting and performance. Today, as a songwriter/composer and recording artist, with four records under her belt, Noe is unique in her artistry and comfortable in her uniqueness.

San Francisco Magazine
"She's the freshest voice in San Francisco"

Pure Music [07.11.02]
"Here we have a homegrown, full blown young musical visionary, and a window into a part of the new San Francisco sound. This train is headed somewhere..."

reviews

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  • Is the spirit here? YES!!!
    author: Scott Erickson

    This album is actually my second taste of Noe. I first bought "Boots" when I heard about her through Ani DiFranco, and was thoroughly impressed. Thus, I sought out this album, and was even more awed by her utter brilliance. Noe plays the guitar and mandolin fantastically in many diverse and creative arrangements, and her voice is exceptionally beautiful and unique. Mix these components in with her amazingly clever lyrics, and you get the masterpiece that is this album. These songs are natural and magical, and often make one feel as if they've been transported to Faerie or Narnia (whose characters of Aslan and the Silver Queen are actually referred to in "Midsummer Night's Dream"). Some of the songs that stand out for me are: "Is the Spirit Here?", "Midsummer Night's Dream", "Wings Again", "Simple Song", "Garden", and "Black Madonna", though the whole album is brilliant, and I would highly recommend it!

  • At a loss...
    author: Sarah Fimm

    Absolutely Captivating.

  • brilliant
    author: anna

    Brilliant record. Never heard anything quite like it. Noe is a great singer and these are her best songs.

  • So good I cant put it into words!!!!!!
    author: Natalie

    I was able to hear some of these songs at a Ani Difranco concert. Noe is amaising and this cd just helps to prove that. Her voice is soft and enamoring. Its the type of cd that you just want to and keep listening to over and over again!

  • Beautiful and Atmospheric
    author: Collected Sounds

    Noe Venable is back with her soft haunting (yet powerful and emotional) voice. The music is a tad more complex this time out (as compared to "Boots") but it still very much in the same vein. I could pick out my favorite songs, but I'd end up naming them all eventually. But "Black Madonna" really sticks out to me as does "Is the Spirit Here?". In both songs she does this great spoken, almost yelling thing that it at once alarming and cool. "Feral" also has some great spoken stuff. "Wings Again" reminds me so much of Sarah Slean it's eerie. It's a more melodic song that the others on here. The piano shows up a lot more here. This is a fantastic CD, go get it NOW!

  • Noe is amazing!
    author: Johanna

    I bought this CD after hearing Noe open for Ani Difranco. I don't usually pay much attention to the opening act, but this artist's voice really got to me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. "Secret Knots" is the same way. The songwriting is amazing--i hear the songs playing through my head all day! And Noe's voice is absolutely beautiful. She's truly an artist. I really don't think that you can go wrong with this CD.

  • Undoubtedly the best album of the year
    author: Alli

    Spurred by a friend's glowing recommendation, I bought this album sound unheard. The album is such a perfectly beautiful work of art, such a magnificent feat that I was overtaken with musical joy upon first listen. Noe's lyrics are at once fantastical and bold; her music is an exploration and a celebration. There is mystery here and it's enough to keep you listening to the very end and over again. I'm so impressed and in love with this album. Is the spirit here? YES!

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