Two Loons for Tea

Ectophile's Guide to Good Music
Wonderful combination of jazz, pop, trip hop, electronica, atmospheric guitar, and great raspy/rich vocals... with liveliness and depth... Heavenly.

Cathy Dyer, Tablet Magazine, Seattle, WA
Tuneful, finely crafted soundscapes... vocalist Scott avoids usual female-vocalist pigeonholes by transcending all of them... intelligent, mind-altering stuff.

Two Loons for Tea

Two Loons for Tea,Two Loons for Tea,Sarathan Records,A sensual, moody and cinematic album with exquisite female vocals and lush multilayered music ranging from trip-hop to pop to jazz, featuring guest performances by members of King Crimson, Critters Buggin, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians.,Indie Pop,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop,United States of America

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Blown Away
Gorgeous
Looking out
THIS IS YOUR CUP OF TEA
A unique and possibly timeless album

Looking for Landmarks
Two Loons for Tea
Manufacturer: Sarathan Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006HCTE
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Tracks:

Blue Suit
Looking for Landmarks
Dying for Love
Blood for Sugar
Sad Diamonds
She's Not Worth the Worry
Shape of Strange
Green Limousine
Emily
The Prisoner
This Mortal Rodeo
Emily Dickinson

Amazon.com

All that can be sensual, mysterious, and sexy about pop music is found in Looking for Landmarks, the second release by the collective Two Loons for Tea. Led by singer Sarah Scott and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Kochmer, Two Loons infuse their album with flourishes of jazz and progressive rock. Yet despite its complexity, the disc is accessible, thanks in large part to Scott's thrilling melodic narrations. She is a confident explorer whose gossamer vocals transcend classification; Scott touches on funk or allows her voice to trail off into a world-weary vibrato reminiscent of Billie Holiday. The album's roster of guest musicians, including drummer Matt Chamberlain (Garbage, Fiona Apple), guitarist Trey Gunn (King Crimson), and violinist Eyvind Kang (Bill Frisell), complements the songs' deep well of world rhythms, style, and experimentation. Landmarks is expertly executed; its many luminous layers radiate through flawless, organic production. Finally, the disc massages the ear with exotic soundscapes that reward the listener with subtle but endless detail. Pop hasn't seen an outfit this sophisticated since Portishead. --Beth Massa

Album Description

"Looking for Landmarks" is an album of delicious sensuality and ear-expanding musical eclecticism from the Seattle-based modern-pop collective Two Loons for Tea (led by Sarah Scott [vocals & lyrics] and Jonathan Kochmer [guitars, composition & production]).

From the voluptuous rhythms of "Blood for Sugar" and "She's Not Worth the Worry," to the hip-thrusting funk-rock of "Shape of Strange" and the sage-scented melodies of "Sad Diamonds," "Looking for Landmarks" is an enigmatic pop masterwork that establishes Two Loons For Tea as one of contemporary pop's most passionate and adventurous new groups.

"Looking for Landmarks" features performances by some of the finest musicians and technicians of our time, including producer Eric Rosse (Tori Amos); drummer Matt Chamberlain (Garbage, Fiona Apple, Elton John, Macy Gray); engineer Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello, U2, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush); Warr guitarist Trey Gunn (King Crimson, David Sylvian); bassist Brad Houser (Edie Brickell, John Doe, Critters Buggin); bassist Paul Bushnell (Ednaswap); percussionist Mike Dillon (MC 900 Foot Jesus, Pigface, Critters Buggin); violinist Eyvind Kang (Bill Frissell, Mr. Bungle) and soundscapist Jeff Greinke (Land).

The result of all this virtuosic firepower is a sprawling album that honors no musical or lyrical boundaries. In Scott's and Kochmer's fanciful creative world, loose-limbed R&B rhythms mingle with bluesy vocals, supple jazz-rock melodies, ethereal guitars and lyrics that possess the haunting allegorical power of dreams. With its poetic allusions and musical eclecticism, "Looking for Landmarks" accurately captures the exquisite strangeness of our fast-changing age.

Customer Reviews:

Blown Away.......2007-07-11

I had never heard Two Loons for Tea prior to this album but was instantly drawn in. Interesting soundscapes well-supported by gripping lyrics and a tremendously versatile voice, this album pushes musical boundaries while keeping you interested. Sarah Scott's vocals are a perfect mix of style and emotion, breathing life into some very potent lyrics. There's also a lot of instruments at work here played by several talented musicians, but they are blended together so well that they avoid being cacophonous. I really enjoyed the entirety of this album, especially how it develops, going from the catchy Blue Suit, to the soothing title track, percussive and exotic Dying Love all the way to the almost jazzy Shape of Strange and melancholy yet redemptive Emily Dickinson. There's really something here for everyone.

Gorgeous.......2007-07-09

Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. It seems to me that there are two ways of loving Two Loons for Tea. The first way is the simplest. You are a sucker for the beautiful voice of a beautiful woman. So you play "Sad Diamonds." And while you listen to the beautiful Sarah Scott, the unaggressive fullness of Two Loons' sound sneaks up and slowly cocoons you.

Or maybe you love Two Loons for their genre-fusing genius. This love starts the same way, simply enough, with Sarah Scott's voice. Doesn't she sound, 1 minute and 41 seconds into track 8, exactly like Joan Armatrading? But Sarah Scott's voice has many sounds, from Tori Amos to Norah Jones to Nelly Furtado to Macy Gray, and your list soon grows too full. So you turn to the music, but this list is no shorter. The melody of "Blood for Sugar" sounds like a delightfully relaxed Paul Simon. Portions of the "Shape of Strange" remind you of Me'Shell NdegeOcello. You begin to understand that Two Loons is trip-hop and pop and jazz and rock and electronica, and even folk and funk, on occasion. You begin to understand that this is one of the most sophisticated, pleasurable, and entirely fresh albums you've had the fortune to hear in a long time.

Looking out.......2005-02-20

One of the most underrated indie-pop bands of the twenty-first century is probably Two Loons For Tea. Like their self-titled debut, "Looking for Landmarks" is a sultry blend of jazz, pop, trip-hop and smooth guitar, without much of a downside at all.

It certainly says something about the musical quality if it's produced by Tori Amos' former producer Eric Rosse, and has Fiona Apple's drummer Matt Chamberlain. It's a bit more accessable than their smooth debut, starting out with alluring powerpop "Blue Suit," with its sinuous Hammond melodies and catchy hooks.

But with the second song, they lapse into deeper turf, with the swirling title track and the prog-flavored "Dying For Love." After that, it's a tangle of flexible jazz-rock and ethereal ballads. Sometimes the songs are a mix of the two, like in the sultry, panoramic "Prisoner." And at the very end is a hidden track: a slow, atmospheric song, which builds up slowly to a stately prog-jazz beat. Very weird, but also very interesting.

"Looking for Landmarks" is a teeny bit more accessable than its predecessor, with those wicked pop hooks and catchy rhythms. But Two Loons For Tea don't fall prey to the dumbing-down that many bands do. Their music stays complex and multilayered, even when it's catchy -- listen to "Green Limousine's" atmospheric opener, before Two Loons start to rock out.

The two Loons -- that is, the ones that are always there -- are Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer. Scott contributes her sweet vocals and songcraft: "And I was not born for morning,/or abstract love, or silent notes." And Kochmer, as well as being cowriter, also contributes four kinds of guitar, plus bass and string arrangements. But he's not the only one.

The instrumentation is so complicated that it's sometimes hard to sort out, as in the glittering last half of "Dying For Love." It doesn't hurt to have Matt Chamberlain doing some of his most impressive percussion work, backed by Rosse's piano, Hammond and Casion, and Eyvind Kang's exquisite string arrangements. Meshed together, the instrumentation is lush and almost intoxicating.

Few pop bands can reach the heights of Two Loons For Tea, and "Looking For Landmarks" proves that their debut was no fluke. Definitely something to check out, while waiting for their forthcoming third album.

THIS IS YOUR CUP OF TEA.......2002-12-09

Building on the strengths of their first album, Two Loons For Tea comes back with "Looking For Landmarks". With rich, full instrumentation, catchy melodies and beautiful vocals, the Loons have carefully produced an album equally enhanced by bright freshness and deep soulfulness. Vocalist Sarah Scott and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Kochmer are joined here by an A-list roster of musicians who've earned their stripes with such acts as Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Macy Gray, Elton John, King Crimson and many more, but the songs are never overshadowed by show-boating. The guests elegantly weave into the musical cloth, building its strength. This is classy album that shuns labeling and is not to be missed. Look for it on many end of the year `best of' lists.

A unique and possibly timeless album.......2002-10-02

I've been seeing rave reviews of Two Loons for Tea online, and bought "Looking for Landmarks" right away. This exquisite album hasn't left my CD changer since, and I've bought more copies for friends.

First... what genre is it? It's some kind of pop, but touches so broadly and frequently on other genres (rock, ambient, Asian, funk, folk, alternative, jazz, classical, etc.) that it doesn't fit neatly into existing categories. Two Loons somehow melds these influences into one coherent sound. Are they forging a new genre? Eclectipop? Smartpop? Sophistipop?

Every song is a unique gem, but consistently features strong and confident vocal performances by Sarah Scott and superb supporting musical performances by her multi-instrumentalist bandmate Jonathan Kochmer (and the 19 other musicians they rounded up -- the quality and diversity of contributors to Two Loons for Tea is remarkable, ranging from jazz musicians in the NYC Knitting Factory crowd, to Tori Amos' original producer, Eric Rosse).

Here's some brief reviews of each song in an attempt to convey the sprawling beauty of this album:

1. Blue Suit: A peppy power-pop ditty with driving percussion and guitars and a rousing chorus. Great for opening an album, though it's more mainstream than the album as a whole. Distinctly a summer-time song.

2. Looking for Landmarks: Deservedly the title track (and the real beginning of the album) with the relaxed sensuality Two Loons achieves better than most anyone else: consistently transports one elsewhere. Lovely and moving lyrics ("Do you hear the chorus in the canyon / as you spend another evening alone? You must accept / when an ending comes / breathe... just breathe"). Especially nice are the vocal lead-in to the chorus, sparkly acoustic guitar lines throughout (which evoke summer sunlight on a windy lake), and an outro that exhales soft and accepting sighs into silence.

3. Dying for Love: Flamboyant ethnic-flavored guitars and percussion leading to verses with insistent and shoulder-bobbing rhythms, and then a soaring chorus. There are many ethnic influences in this piece (Balkan, Brazilian, and Spanish), and somehow it all works.

4. Blood for Sugar: Wistful and poignant song with world-weary singing and lyrics of bittersweet delicacy ("a tuxedo / a promise / a ceremony, a compromise / she's trading blood for sugar") and choruses with a Phil-Spectorish wall-of-sound luxuriousness. But Two Loons again surprises by veering off into what sounds like Central-Asian bazaar music and again, they make this unlikely juxtaposition work.

5. Sad Diamonds: Simply vocal and guitars and simply one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Shivers and tingles every time. Although the lavish instrumentation of the rest of "Landmarks" is fabulous, a duo acoustic album from Two Loons would be a special treat.

6. She's Not Worth the Worry: This must be why Two Loons is compared to U2: imagine U2 shucking Bono for a female vocalist and hiring a chamber orchestra: you'd get something very like this song.

7. Shape of Strange: How strange indeed! Suddenly the Two Loons musical mystery bus goes on soul-funk caravan complete with booty-shakin'-bass and rousing gospelesque call-and-response vocals. But Sarah Scott's confident vocals and allusive lyrics stamp it unequivocally as a Two Loons tune.

8. Green Limousine: The only song on the album that flaunts this band's Seattle roots: a brooding dark insistence and explosive soft-verse / loud-chorus structure reminiscent of Seattle alternative (spiked with Floydish doses of prog-rock?). There's so much going on in the chorus that the listener becomes delirious which may be the intended effect given some of the lyrical content ("he's the freeway pharmacist / the cars are waiting in a line / while he read Voltaire / in his wheelchair / edge of the freeway / drive-through heroin / and caviar / the freeway pulses / with the blood of the city"). The soloed vocals at the end are a chilling and perfect lead into:

9. Emily: The album began in summer, and now we're led into a haunted house in the hollowness of winter. Spare and dark music, creepy subliminal sounds, and a supernatural experience in a wide stereo field.

10. The Prisoner: A good song, but maybe a tad long. Great vocals in the soaring chorus and bridge. Still head-and-shoulders above lots on the radio these days.

11. This Mortal Rodeo: The best way to describe this gently enigmatic tune may be "world-wise-sophisti-pop". The string sections could be an imaginary and melancholic Bollywood soundtrack, the guitars and percussion convey wisdom of weary workers in a village square, the horns are a haunting cry from a lovesick mermaid, and the lyrics encourage a thoughtful re-evaluation of the privileged in this world.

12. Emily Dickinson: The album closes with an instrumental version of Track 9 (Emily). One now feels as if one has passed on and gone to a parallel universe floating above the album you have just heard.

Tracks:

Brick Wall
Boy
Carousel
Neon Nothing
Ice Cube Crocodile
Stones and Bones
Women Whisper
Strangers
Parachute

Customer Reviews:

Smart, seductive and sophisticated........2007-07-11

Two Loons for Tea's self-titled album is a splendid mix of genres. An avid electronic music fan myself, I like anything that takes normally incompatible sounds or beats and makes them work, but it's not just about blending sounds; rock fans will like the punchy accents and crescendos, jazz fans will adore the shifting blend of instruments that come in and out of the fore and background and everyone will love the intelligent lyrics delivered by an innovative and versatile vocalist. The tracks have a similar feel to each other, but it never gets boring because each song is a different angle on something that's great to begin with. The true brilliance is finding rhythm and melody in a constantly shifting soundscape. You may hear a catchy hook at the beginning of a song, but you never hear it exactly the same way again. It evolves as you listen, grows as you watch like a time-lapse video. This album is genius and really shows what a team of musicians who are unafraid to experiment with what's technically capable, yet soundly based on what is pleasing to the ear and resonates with human emotion are capable of. I haven't stopped hearing Two Loons for Tea in my head since I first heard it a week ago and it redefines my musical tastes in a profound way.

A tremendously appealing album.......2007-07-09

Incredibly diverse songs that form an intriguingly consistent whole. The music and Sarah Scott's voice register as opulent and stark and difficult and easy all at the same time. This is a tremendously appealing album. The first time I listened to the song "Neon Nothing" I was transfixed. It's the same way I felt when I listened to some of the songs on Nirvana Unplugged. Trip-Hop and Nirvana aren't supposed to have much in common, but with "Two Loons" all comparisons seem to be fair game.

Excelent, actually I would give it 4.5 stars.......2006-03-24

The music, the lyrics... they are interesting, the music is fresh, its imaginative. I just wonder how different could life be if only instead of the worthless bubblegum pop we would get airplay of groups like this. I strongly recomend this album, brickwall, boy and specially strangers, listen to this last one and you'll undesrtand what I am talking about. You won't regret it; it is not pop, or alternative or adult contemp it is a fusion of that and more. Great album.

"Loons" fly.......2005-01-30

Two Loons For Tea are one of those subtle bands, whose self-titled album became an underground hit based purely on talent. It's an intoxicating mix of trip-hop, catchy pop, jazz and smooth guitar. The main flaw is that it's way too short -- only nine songs, but what exceptional pop songs they are.

It opens with the gorgeous "Brickwall," an expansive trip-hop song with some sharp percussion and incomparable layering. But the faster pace melts away into a sweet, slightly murky pop song, which is made even more lovely by Sarah Scott murmurs, "They always interfere with love/she's out on the town/still wants a boy, a boy..."

For the rest of their debut, Two Loons For Tea stretch their wings with atmospheric pop songs tinged with jazzy brass, ending with a pair of darker melodies. "Strangers" is a shimmering, dense song, while the finale "Parachute" is halting, melodic, soft and a little nervous-sounding. It's an exquisite end to an otherwise confident ending.

"Two Loons For Tea" had pretty much no hype when it was first released, but it slipped into music-lovers' collections anyway. Their sound is a sort of collision between Portishead and Emiliana Torrini, with a dash of Mazzy Star thrown in -- and while jazz, trip-hop and pop don't usually mesh so well, here they blend perfectly.

The band itself is the brainchild of Scott and Jonathan Kochmer, and their work is perfectly in sync. Scott provides strong vocals that can be throaty, sweet or fragile. Instrumentally, Kochmer steals the show by playing three guitars -- electric, synth, and some exquisite acoustic playing in "Neon Nothing," where it's just Scott's voice and some guitar. It sounds like they're playing in a coffeehouse.

Backing them are a number of other musicians, who contribute percussion, hammond and piano, even more guitar, and something called "effects" -- I think it means little chimes and additional electronic blips. Jessica Lurie and Skerik also contribute saxophones to three songs, adding a jazzy flavor to straightforward trip-hop tunes.

Two Loons for Tea made only a little splash with their self-titled debut, but it's an album that overflows with beauty and musical depth. A must-have.

why haven't you bought this yet??.......2001-12-01

this album is addictive - wonderfully layered gorgeous music.. and what a line up of muscians everyone from mike dillon, skerik to brad houser ... AMAZING.. sarah's vocals are dreamy.