Arms of Kismet

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Comprised of a wide range of sounds from alternative rock ("Alive and Awake" and "Are You My God" are notable examples, as is "Sail Seven," which contains more than a few echoes of late-1980s They Might Be Giants) to hip-hop-inflected tracks like "Karma Never Forgets" and "Beautiful Career," which a cunning, daring DJ might slip into his dance mix, Eponymous is a magical collision of styles and sounds that careens down the tracks without ever derailing. What takes this disc to the rarified air it occupies is the care with which it was obviously created.... "Cuckold of Titan" and "Sepia Eyes" paint vivid pictures with an economy of words. They are both beautiful tracks, and "Sepia Eyes" serves as a stunning closer.... Eponymous is a classic, one of the first great discs of 2004. - Groovevolt.com

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Comprised of a wide range of sounds from alternative rock ("Alive and Awake" and "Are You My God" are notable examples, as is "Sail Seven," which contains more than a few echoes of late-1980s They Might Be Giants) to hip-hop-inflected tracks like "Karma Never Forgets" and "Beautiful Career," which a cunning, daring DJ might slip into his dance mix, Eponymous is a magical collision of styles and sounds that careens down the tracks without ever derailing. What takes this disc to the rarified air it occupies is the care with which it was obviously created.... "Cuckold of Titan" and "Sepia Eyes" paint vivid pictures with an economy of words. They are both beautiful tracks, and "Sepia Eyes" serves as a stunning closer.... Eponymous is a classic, one of the first great discs of 2004. - Groovevolt.com

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Eponymous brims with an off-kilter wisdom and warped melodies, a treasure-trove of idiosyncratic rock and roll that will make you smile when it isn't busy making you think. More than just a collection of songs, this disc marks the coming of age of an original voice, and is not to be missed. - Jason Warburg, The Daily Vault

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Eponymous brims with an off-kilter wisdom and warped melodies, a treasure-trove of idiosyncratic rock and roll that will make you smile when it isn't busy making you think. More than just a collection of songs, this disc marks the coming of age of an original voice, and is not to be missed. - Jason Warburg, The Daily Vault

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Inspired song structure, thematic consistency and depth, excellent instrumentation, original and compelling lyrics, the human touch, rock tradition, songwriting superiority, vocal harmony, ironic smiles, America, sadness, beauty, and an enveloping sense of personal involvement and connection.... Anyone who likes Smog, P.J. Harvey, Dylan, Tom Petty, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, or any of the songwriting greats, will love this. - Fleabomb.com

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Inspired song structure, thematic consistency and depth, excellent instrumentation, original and compelling lyrics, the human touch, rock tradition, songwriting superiority, vocal harmony, ironic smiles, America, sadness, beauty, and an enveloping sense of personal involvement and connection.... Anyone who likes Smog, P.J. Harvey, Dylan, Tom Petty, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, or any of the songwriting greats, will love this. - Fleabomb.com

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Mark Doyon writes wry and intelligent songs about life, religion, and the ongoing pursuit of happiness. This collection of singular pop tunes includes one absolute classic (the powerful "Are You My God") and several others ("Cuckold of Titan," "Sepia Eyes") that are nearly as good. Recommended for those who like their pop with a twist. - Norman Famous' Reviews

Arms of Kismet
Eponymous

Mark Doyon writes wry and intelligent songs about life, religion, and the ongoing pursuit of happiness. This collection of singular pop tunes includes one absolute classic (the powerful "Are You My God") and several others ("Cuckold of Titan," "Sepia Eyes") that are nearly as good. Recommended for those who like their pop with a twist. - Norman Famous' Reviews

Murder Your Darlings
Wampeters (now Arms of Kismet)

Listening to this disc, I had many of those moments where I just would stare, fixated on some inanimate object trying to figure out who this band sounds like and, well, the only thing I could really come up with is this: a very dark version of Bruce Cockburn. Now, I do have to say that this could be one of the higher compliments I have bestowed on someone because Cockburn's brilliance lies in his ability to write songs that are candid, narrative and enhanced only more by his infectious singing style. There is something about Wampeters that I have yet to classify that makes me like this disc. After several listens (and half-listens, my lack of ambition to listen to new discs lately is appalling when all I want to do is crawl in a cave with my Jeff Buckley and Neil Finn discs this week), the myriad of genres that are interplaying with each other began to take on a body of its own, reinventing the band's sound on several occasions and bringing out a surprising amount of variety and musical ability.

"I Am Thinking of My Darling" is a warm, golden ray of near roots-rock that leaves a big smile on the face and leads into "Pretty Crooked Smile," the final cut on the disc and a powerfully simplistic approach that doesn't rely on the big guitar riffs that pervade the opening track. To listen to the beginning of this disc, and to delve right into the blazing guitar wash of "Alternate," it's difficult to imagine the progression that leads to the final cut. In his accompanying press kit, Mark Doyon says "We don't set out to define what we're doing... What we're doing tends to define us." And that statement just about sums up the experience that accompanies listening to Murder Your Darlings. The last great mainstream release that best exemplifies this method of development of style and sound is Wilco's Summerteeth, a great record because of its natural progression toward a fully evolved body of work. When it's done, you know it. But halfway through, there's something nagging you and something egging you on to listen to how it's going to end. And that's the mark of a great narrative album. It's not about telling a story within the span of a three-minute song, but allowing the energy to redirect itself and carry you on a musical journey that even the band can't predict. The Wampeters have completed their journey in fine form. They have a distinct voice -- vocally and musically -- and they don't force any type of disparity here. They allow themselves to muse over the possibilities of "fate and fulfillment" and flesh it out in the form of a well-crafted record. - Heidi Drockelman

Murder Your Darlings
Wampeters (now Arms of Kismet)

Listening to this disc, I had many of those moments where I just would stare, fixated on some inanimate object trying to figure out who this band sounds like and, well, the only thing I could really come up with is this: a very dark version of Bruce Cockburn. Now, I do have to say that this could be one of the higher compliments I have bestowed on someone because Cockburn's brilliance lies in his ability to write songs that are candid, narrative and enhanced only more by his infectious singing style. There is something about Wampeters that I have yet to classify that makes me like this disc. After several listens (and half-listens, my lack of ambition to listen to new discs lately is appalling when all I want to do is crawl in a cave with my Jeff Buckley and Neil Finn discs this week), the myriad of genres that are interplaying with each other began to take on a body of its own, reinventing the band's sound on several occasions and bringing out a surprising amount of variety and musical ability.

"I Am Thinking of My Darling" is a warm, golden ray of near roots-rock that leaves a big smile on the face and leads into "Pretty Crooked Smile," the final cut on the disc and a powerfully simplistic approach that doesn't rely on the big guitar riffs that pervade the opening track. To listen to the beginning of this disc, and to delve right into the blazing guitar wash of "Alternate," it's difficult to imagine the progression that leads to the final cut. In his accompanying press kit, Mark Doyon says "We don't set out to define what we're doing... What we're doing tends to define us." And that statement just about sums up the experience that accompanies listening to Murder Your Darlings. The last great mainstream release that best exemplifies this method of development of style and sound is Wilco's Summerteeth, a great record because of its natural progression toward a fully evolved body of work. When it's done, you know it. But halfway through, there's something nagging you and something egging you on to listen to how it's going to end. And that's the mark of a great narrative album. It's not about telling a story within the span of a three-minute song, but allowing the energy to redirect itself and carry you on a musical journey that even the band can't predict. The Wampeters have completed their journey in fine form. They have a distinct voice -- vocally and musically -- and they don't force any type of disparity here. They allow themselves to muse over the possibilities of "fate and fulfillment" and flesh it out in the form of a well-crafted record. - Heidi Drockelman

Bonneville Stories
by Mark Doyon

Perfect.... The sheer power of Bonneville Stories is enough to make you gasp and stare. It's not the power of wild violence or explicit sex; it is a more subtle strength, the strength of imagining the worst of everyday life.... This is a brilliant collection of beautifully written stories that made me cringe, grimace, and laugh, while sometimes moving me to great pity. There just aren't any flaws here, and I can't possibly do this book justice in a review — no one could, really.... You simply must read this one for yourself. - Laurie Edwards

Bonneville Stories
by Mark Doyon

Perfect.... The sheer power of Bonneville Stories is enough to make you gasp and stare. It's not the power of wild violence or explicit sex; it is a more subtle strength, the strength of imagining the worst of everyday life.... This is a brilliant collection of beautifully written stories that made me cringe, grimace, and laugh, while sometimes moving me to great pity. There just aren't any flaws here, and I can't possibly do this book justice in a review — no one could, really.... You simply must read this one for yourself. - Laurie Edwards

Bonneville Stories
by Mark Doyon

Doyon has what all great writers have: that special something that makes their work compulsively readable, and characters that live on in our imaginations until, with time, we're not sure if they were real or just people we've read about.... Doyon's characters are more real to us because he manages to instill in his writing slices of reality that hit us where we live, marking us forever with a sudden truth about the human condition. And isn't that what great art is all about? - Robin Landry

Bonneville Stories
by Mark Doyon

Doyon has what all great writers have: that special something that makes their work compulsively readable, and characters that live on in our imaginations until, with time, we're not sure if they were real or just people we've read about.... Doyon's characters are more real to us because he manages to instill in his writing slices of reality that hit us where we live, marking us forever with a sudden truth about the human condition. And isn't that what great art is all about? - Robin Landry

Bonneville Stories
by Mark Doyon

Doyon's skills as a storyteller are well-developed, and his text is marked by a clean incisive prose that shows little sign of affectation or device.... Perhaps the ruling theme in Bonneville Stories is one of desperation. Some of the Shenandoah locals make a brief sojourn through or past desperation, becoming more whole in the process, while others reside there, becoming monoliths stuck in a nearly existential paralysis of indecision and/or self-absorption. If Doyon has a moral point it's perhaps that, while there are no promises in this sphere, to stand still is to court the thunderbolt. Bonneville Stories is a brisk, fascinating read, and we recommend it without reservation.

*****
- Charles Allen Wyman

Bonneville Stories
by Mark Doyon

Doyon's skills as a storyteller are well-developed, and his text is marked by a clean incisive prose that shows little sign of affectation or device.... Perhaps the ruling theme in Bonneville Stories is one of desperation. Some of the Shenandoah locals make a brief sojourn through or past desperation, becoming more whole in the process, while others reside there, becoming monoliths stuck in a nearly existential paralysis of indecision and/or self-absorption. If Doyon has a moral point it's perhaps that, while there are no promises in this sphere, to stand still is to court the thunderbolt. Bonneville Stories is a brisk, fascinating read, and we recommend it without reservation.

*****
- Charles Allen Wyman

Murder Your Darlings
Wampeters (now Arms of Kismet)

As song titles like "Lee Jackson Hwy" suggest, Wampeters hail from Northern Virginia. In a blindfold test, though, such Wampeters tunes as "Hurry Up and Crumble" might well pass for Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. The trio's new Murder Your Darlings is loungey folk-rock that sounds both more '80s and more British than the band's 1997 debut.

Last time around, singer Mark Doyon spat out rhymes like yet another new Dylan, but this album's songs are smoother, cooler and more considered. "You're just a little bit full of yourself," a woman tells the narrator in "Pretty Crooked Smile," the album's wordiest, most awkward song, and that may be true. The other nine tunes, however, are seldom overbearing. Indeed, such mid-tempo rockers as "Anytime" and "I Am Thinking of My Darling" are so well-crafted that Doyon and his cohorts have reason to be a little bit full of themselves. - Mark Jenkins

Murder Your Darlings
Wampeters (now Arms of Kismet)

As song titles like "Lee Jackson Hwy" suggest, Wampeters hail from Northern Virginia. In a blindfold test, though, such Wampeters tunes as "Hurry Up and Crumble" might well pass for Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. The trio's new Murder Your Darlings is loungey folk-rock that sounds both more '80s and more British than the band's 1997 debut.

Last time around, singer Mark Doyon spat out rhymes like yet another new Dylan, but this album's songs are smoother, cooler and more considered. "You're just a little bit full of yourself," a woman tells the narrator in "Pretty Crooked Smile," the album's wordiest, most awkward song, and that may be true. The other nine tunes, however, are seldom overbearing. Indeed, such mid-tempo rockers as "Anytime" and "I Am Thinking of My Darling" are so well-crafted that Doyon and his cohorts have reason to be a little bit full of themselves. - Mark Jenkins