Posted on: March 5, 2010 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

“Il Pleure Dans Mon Coeur” has a shuffling feel to it that showcases the nuanced and complex nature of Carmen Tosca’s work, and the track’s length (topping out at around 9:45) ensures that there is more than enough time to go through different genres and styles before the track closes up. There are hints of ethereal, electronic, dance, tropical, and even goth music to be had here. The spontaneous nature of Tosca on “Il Pleure Dans Mon Coeur” and throughout the whole of “Wind” keeps listeners on the edge of their seats, while breaking the stereotype that longer songs have to drag or otherwise be unwieldy.

“New Life” immediately elicits imagery of a baby in the womb before touching upon all the wonder and grandeur of being in a new place, or by being the title entity. While there may be some vocals present, Tosca has relegated their use to further the harmonies and arrangements present on “Wind”; the narrative is as a result much more cogent and more well-established than it would be on a comparable vocal work. “Sunday Afternoon” presents Tosca’s mid-disc foray into shorter tracks, a move that showcases her skill in making more concise and hard-hitting tracks.

For example, there is a tribal feel to “Sunday Afternoon” that marries itself to a whimsical set of sounds that incorporate a Spanish flamenco style. The inclusion of remixes of “New Life” and “Sunday Afternoon” were really integral to breaking my previously-held perception that remixes only slightly changed the source material. Where a Pet Shop Boys track may be remixed eight different ways with only cosmetic changes (tempo, chorus arrangement), the remix of Tosca’s tracks here give listeners a completely different context for which to enjoy two of the best tracks off of “Wind”. The disc itself closes up with a bonus in “Waves”, a track that seems transitory in the sense that it furthers the trends first broached by “Emma” and “Believe” but looks strongly to future Tosca recordings.

Top Tracks: Il Pleure Dans Mon Coeur, Sunday Afternoon

Rating: 8.5/10

Carmen Tosca – Wind / 2010 Self / 11 Tracks / http://www.carmentosca.com

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