{"id":6243,"date":"2010-12-18T15:08:44","date_gmt":"2010-12-18T20:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bostonsurvivalguide.net\/wordpress\/?p=6243"},"modified":"2010-12-18T19:56:22","modified_gmt":"2010-12-19T00:56:22","slug":"review-box-fives-full-length-debut-leave-the-earth-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bostonsurvivalguide.net\/wordpress\/2010\/12\/review-box-fives-full-length-debut-leave-the-earth-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Box Five’s full-length debut ~ Leave The Earth Behind"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mary

Mary Bichner and Eliza Kopczynska of Box Five (photo by Justin Moore)<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s understandable that Mary Bichner of Box Five<\/a> dreamt of one day being accompanied by a full orchestra. Her extraordinary, classically-informed vocals make her sound as though she’s been plucked from a Victorian salon. It’s amazing that Leave The Earth Behind<\/a><\/em> is her debut full-length album, as its virtuosic performances, multi-textured complexity and overall cohesiveness would suggest otherwise. <\/p>\n

A little background… As stated on her myspace<\/a>, Ms. Bichner “hears color and sees sound. Wait, what?” The condition is known as synesthesia<\/a><\/em>, though “condition” suggests an ailment, and in Mary’s case, it’s a blessing. Her ability to see specific colors when hearing corresponding pitches adds a touch of magic to her creativity, which is evident in the way her voice supernaturally glides and soars. Joining her on this recording is a mind-boggling ensemble<\/a> of gifted musicians with impressive resumes. At the forefront is violinist Eliza Kopczynska, who has performed with such diverse artists as Josh Groban, Mark Wood, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, and various orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout Europe and the U.S. She adds a huge helping of dazzling violin to the proceedings; at times mournful and solitary,then wildly festive and celebratory. Quite an amazing emotional range to match Mary’s equally far-reaching vocals. <\/p>\n

<\/object><\/object> <\/p>\n

The CD includes brief, funny and quite accurate descriptions of each song. There’s a “punk song,” a “sea shanty,” a “carefree 60-s era beach party,” an “art song,” a “sexy spy movie soundtrack”… all pointing to a wide variety of moods and shifting passions. The first, “My Hands Gave Way” is “the ‘somber girl at the piano song”. It’s brief, just a few verses, but wow, does it usher in a mood – powerful and, yes, somber, with the lyrics “what was I thinking, relinquishing the reins, the world’s gone up in flames, and I am to blame.” Very beautiful. Following it is “Thinking Out Loud” which is anything but<\/em> somber. Wildly rambunctious with Ms. Kopczynska’s madly galloping violin. <\/p>\n

While a more traditional rock song like “Set Me Straight” work equally well, it’s the grandly sweeping ones such as “Thinking Out Loud” and “How Should I Your True Love Know” (with lyrics extracted from Hamlet<\/em>) that highlight Mary’s highly theatrical vocal delivery that one can envision in a fancy concert hall.<\/p>\n

“Scylla and Charibdys” nicely highlights Mary’s considerable vocal range and the lushness of her hand-picked orchestra (they recorded it in sections, in her living room), and “Ceasefire” – one of my personal favorites – is melancholy and deeply soulful (“say you are sorry, and I will cease fire”). It begins with just piano, and then the strings come in, with lovely interplay of vocals and violins. A somber, gothic beauty.<\/p>\n

“Ceasefire” and “Set Me Straight” (another favorite, with its acoustic guitar and cello centerpiece) are somewhat quieter, nicely setting off the more lavish numbers, and providing the album with a perfect balance of opulence and intimacy.<\/p>\n

“How Should I Your True Love Know” (the “art” song) is appropriately plucky and waltzy with a true Victorian flair, and the album finishes with the crazy “Today Is The Day”, with its lively gypsy-Balkan-Yiddish wedding groove.<\/p>\n

An ambitious effort, beautifully executed, and one that entrenches itself with repeated listens.<\/p>\nshare this: \"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"tumblr\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s understandable that Mary Bichner of Box Five dreamt of one day being accompanied by a full orchestra. Her extraordinary, classically-informed vocals make her sound as though she’s been plucked from a Victorian salon. It’s amazing that Leave The Earth Behind is her debut full-length album, as its virtuosic performances, multi-textured complexity and overall cohesiveness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,13,5],"tags":[1090,1088,1091,1089],"table_tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Box Five's full-length debut ~ Leave The Earth Behind - musings from boston<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonsurvivalguide.net\/wordpress\/2010\/12\/review-box-fives-full-length-debut-leave-the-earth-behind\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: Box Five's full-length debut ~ Leave The Earth Behind - musings from boston\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s understandable that Mary Bichner of Box Five dreamt of one day being accompanied by a full orchestra. 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