Moon & Fire Circle

It's not often that a new artist comes knocking at your door, but that's what happened with this one. I received an email asking me to review her new CD here on my little blog, so here goes! The first time I listened to The Moon and the Fire Circle by Shauna Burns I had my stereo at my normal soft volume. The first thing I noticed was the piano, lilting through the songs and every bit as important as the vocals. I'm a sing along kind of listener, so I didn't like the fact that I had to strain to hear the lyrics.

The next time I listened I was busy painting the walls in my upstairs hallway so I had it cranked up pretty loud. The vocal track worked better at a higher volume on my Aiwa boom box so it was a great background for hours of work. Her sound fits in with a collection of Tori Amos, Loreena McKennitt, and Enya. Here is the blurb from Amazon.com:

"Powerful songwriting, enchanting piano, vocals and strong percussion are delicately mixed with flavorful guitar, harp and cello to create the perfect universe where The Moon and the Fire Circle combine to embrace the soul. A journey from the light to the dark and back to the light again, Shauna takes us with her as we travel deep into the underworld of different points of view."

That's the promotional copy, and then they posted a review as well:

"Shauna's acoustic piano-driven music is very stream of consciousness, emotive and moving. Even when the lyrical intention is clear, Burns deliberately chooses to phrase the words in such a way as to strip them of conventional meaning. Wild, I know, but fresh, fearless and free." --Kevan Breitinger, Indie-Music.com

Now I like the sound of this album, and looking at the lyrics they are very poetic. But I prefer poems that have meaning that stand on their own. I have no idea what any of the songs are about. While I was listening the first time straining to hear her voice, the first thing that came to mind is what are they trying to hide? The fact is she's a better pianist than singer, and a better composer than lyricist. But it is a nice addition to my music collection, and one that I will listen to again and again. I just think of the vocal as an unusual wind instrument and I'm fine.