Rio en Medio

Bride of Dynamite

(Gnomonsong)

Record Review by Amber Henson

I consider myself indie, but not this indie.  Rio en Medio is the band name, but the band really is just Danielle Stech-Homsy playing an amazing variety of musical instruments (with help) and singing in a dreamy, creepy, high-pitched voice.  I would call this music ‘folk-new age’; she advertises herself on MySpace as ‘Folk-Electronica-Experimental’ which I would also call correct.

It seems the ukulele is Stech-Homsy’s main instrument; it’s heard on almost all of the twelve songs on this album.  But there are so many other instruments, perhaps too many.  Between the echoing bells, the music box tones, and some sounds I can’t even identify (probably the ‘bulba tarang’ that is listed on the back of album cover), it sort of takes over the music.  There’s a lot going on, and Stech-Homsy’s voice, although beautiful and ephemeral, sometimes gets overpowered.

Lyrics are another thing that makes Stech-Homsy stand out.  “I’ll marry me a farmer who’s got a plot of land, or heaven is high the apple tree, come hold a brother’s hand,” and “Here is a story of how you came to born, how you came to be born” both start songs that continue to keep the listener’s attention.  Track five, “Europe a Prophecy,” is a William Blake poem, and Stech-Homsy has kind of Enya’d it, to an extreme. 

One thing you could never say about this woman is that she lacks creativity.  Rather, she oozes it, going a little far for conventional tastes.  As the daughter of a John Cage fan, I know that anyone who mentions him as an influence on their MySpace page is unlikely to be featured on MTV anytime soon.  Which is fine.  The world needs more dreamers.