Spirit and the Bride

Item: Spirit and the Bride
Author: Josh Spencer

(2000)

Reviewed by Josh Spencer

Discogs YouTube

Label Ear to the GroundThe Phantom Tollbooth2000

ambient world worship

This has been out for three years now, but since there's a lack of this kind of music in the Christian market, it's worth a new review. Spirit and the Bride is a group of eight musicians and two vocalists who have succeeded in tackling a variety of song styles on one album while retaining a unified sound. There's jangly guitar ala '80s modern rock, industro-ambient meandering, world-beat, funky rock, and atmospheric dirges reminiscent of modern worship albums like At the Foot of the Cross.

Unfortunately, the male vocals which dominate most of the album (by Paul Nauman) are a real weak point. His melodramatic, semi-goth, often off-key tone doesn't mesh with the music well at all, creating a sense of discomfort for the sensitive listener. His voice is sometimes processed and distorted, which helps, but it only really works during rare moments like "a.m. radio ghost," with its eerily off-key chorus "heavenly host...holy ghost".

It's only when alto Marijana Nenadic steps up to the mic that Spirit and the Bride shines with an ethnic otherworldliness to match their name. The haunting "Dodi Duse Sveti" and both "Oce Nas" recall Dead Can Dance or Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus at their best. On the first track, her superb voice is accompanied only by resonating bass and percussion, and on the latter, by the same rhythm section plus some Middle-Eastern sounding classical guitar. Though she sings entirely in another language, her songs succeed in creating a worshipful mood much better than the openly worshipful ones that fill the rest of the album.

It's the instrumental textures that make Spirit and the Bride worth a listen--nice rubbery basslines, varied percussion, and delicate guitar work throughout. The ambient industrial experiments like "Metanoia" are also promising. If they could find a new male vocalist, or just let Marijana sing everything, Spirit and the Bride would soar to the majestic heights of musical ecstasy they're obviously capable of. Let's hope they're planning on releasing some new material soon, without Mr. Nauman.