Thomas Feiner & Anywhen - The Opiates [2008]

I love Sunday mornings, especially, if I manage to get out of bed before 7am. Morning walks, fresh pastry and coffee, piano music - life gets better once I apply these to my morning routine. And so today I have wandered to Old Town of my city, and as the rain pours and coffee evaporates from a cup, I enjoy this little moment, yet enriched by the marvelous The Opiates of Thomas Feiner and Anywhen.

There isn't a more precious thing in life than good friends and it's even better when they know what you like and recommend good things, so you can save your time. That's how visiting one friend's favorite coffeehouse and listening to another’s recent favorite album strikes me an inspiration.

My impressions on The Opiates are most differing, one moment I think of Nick Cave, the other - Rome, and moment later its Vast, Clint Mansell and jazzy Sigur Ros. This album is a dreamy, yet passionate poetry.

When I played the opening The Siren Songs to my roomie, I heard 'I love how cello is doing solo, and violins are just making background noises'. I myself jump inside everytime fooling myself it's gonna be instrumental and movie-like, whereas it gets really rocking-touching. In fact this lyrics and melody makes me whisper 'it'd be nice to have someone to hug to this autumn' - a thought I really didn't expect to appear in my head in this decade. Yet as they say - sirens singing can seduce anyone.

Dinah & The Beautiful Blue is even more dreamy and suits quite perfectly my lazy observation of raindrops wandering across the glass. Similarly, Scars and Glasses follows my recently favorite, a bit Cousteau like atmosphere. After that Postcard comes as a really dynamic walk, and I find my fingers marching between my yummy croissaint and a cup of coffee.

Yonderhead doesn’t seem like much emotion at the start, but the cello line gets just mindblowing and I leave the coffeehouse, dancing between the puddles, waving my coat and umbrella like a real lady. If only real ladies headbang while spinning and wrinkle their faces because of all the emotion.

Mesmerene is definitely a song of my day. My tango, my longing and inner peace. A superb lyric, and amazing passion in melody, hidden in very small, modest steps, but ready to explode on you. Or simply – my favorite type of construction in music.

I’ve done a lot of thinking, trying to guess whose voice Thomas resembles, going with really weirdest ideas, some mentioned before. Toy makes me think of the smartest pieces of Anthony & The Johnsons (Bird Gerhl? Ha?). For Now on the other hand makes me think of Rome, if Rome had Philip Glass adding them some classy instrumentation. And yes, it’s a moment my umbrella breaks and for now, I have to cease dancing & writing. As much as I enjoy writing and listening to the album, I must cut my lovely Sunday Morning and get back to studying, but you – get The Opiates and make it a Sunday Evening;)