Lisa Hammer - "Dakini" CD

Lisa has taken a huge step forward for this solo project and created something almost otherworldly. The album contains 17 nice pieces that span time and cultures for an enjoyable ethereal experience.

The album starts off with some traditional pieces from the 12th century to set the pace and introduce the listener to the styles of moods of the album with "In Taberna Quando Sumus" and "Kyrie Orbis Factor". The latter is mostly accapella with some subtle background for a more mystical effect, while the first piece includes percussion and sounds very much like some of the better Dead Can Dance traditional tracks. These overall mystical moods permeate most of the disk, some coming out more ritualistic than others and some are relatively haunting and others just simply beautiful.

For me it's the beautiful pieces that stand out while I could live without the more ritualistic selections. "Ave Nobilis" is another 12th century traditional hymn that she sings beautifully with some minimal background music. Some of these more ethereal pieces are a bit haunting at times, like "Eleison" with it's experimental touches on the music. Much of the main body of the album besides these tracks already mentioned, remains mostly haunting and ritualistic, however, once we get past many of these pieces we're presented with some more beautiful pieces toward the end of the album in "The Muses", though still haunting and somewhat experimental, the mood and feeling is softer and warmer, more inviting. As we move to the final pieces, "The Saddest Day of All" stands out with it's organ and haunting vocals. However, a favorite is "Lullaby" which is appropriately titled with it's dreamy and ethereal nature, again featuring some subtle instruments such as harp and bells with layered synths and strings. This is a great finale to the album and it could have ended here and I would have been perfectly happy. There is one more piece "Trekcho" which ends it all on a ritualistic note.

For fans of Lisa Gerard and the more ritualistic side of bands like Dead Can Dance, this will be a nice album and addition to the musical selection.