Virgin Passages, Mandalay

by Allison Carter
09/23/2006

My first listen to Virgin Passages' album Mandalay was on a few walks to class. Each time a new song began it was incredibly difficult to concentrate on the music due to the lack of sound. Eventually the sound gets your attention, but it is too soon lost by the incessant, uncomplicated strumming of the guitar and banging on drums. At the end of my walk I knew I'd have to give this album another try under different conditions, because it is definitely not walking music. On the ride back from a weekend trip, I gave Mandalay another listen. Driving down I-75, I began to feel a bit lethargic from the sparse sound and the soothing vocals. Not so safe for the highway, but I felt the album was worth sticking out.

Mandalay, in my mind, is comparable to a nights sleep. The first track "Hate Hate Hate" is like being on the edge of sleep, yet still hearing what's going on around you. When the vocals are brought into the song, the events of your day are brought directly into light and lift you out of your sleepy state. As you begin to worry about how you'll feel tomorrow or how to fix whatever troubles you yesterday, "Oh Commodore" begins, with harmonica and vocals that have a childlike sound, gently rocking you back to near asleep. The title track, "Mandalay," continues your journey into a deep sleep.

"Headstones Progress" seems to be a nightmare in comparison to the other tracks. It is one of the only tracks on which the instruments are more than a whisper. The nightmare ceases at the end of the song, and they carry out of your scared state in "F.O.A." The song is one of the most enjoyable on the album. I mean, who doesn't like being comforted? "Your Home is Where You're Happy" most appropriately reinforces your tranquil mood. It's like your good dreams, in which you achieve all your secret aspirations - "...you can do what you want to if you're strong in your mind."

It's the middle of the night and are woken up by a piercing hunger, the only way to describe "Part Weatherman." Taking the volume up a level is good, but they also bring in the element of chaos by making random noises with each instrument. The intolerable pain of "Part Weatherman" is countered by the satisfied feeling of eating your favorite midnight snack, which happens to be the song, "These Concrete Tracks, I Call Them Mine." A pillow cushions your head while "Gents March" floats you back into a sleepy haze. The tribal like beat of the drum in "Like Dogs" follows the pattern of counting sheep in your head. 1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep, 4... then Virgin Passages and your own desires meet in "I Want You to Sleep."

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