Laura Blaise Burroughs

The Infinity Intention is the brainchild of Toronto singer Laura Aidenblaise. The group recently released an EP of moody songs titled Under the Water.

What separates The Infinity Intention from other acts that play 'dream pop' is that there is a warmth to the songs. It's Aidenblaise's vocals that are often responsible for that warmth, something that helps keep the music from becoming a wrist-slitting soundtrack.

Add some melody and a song like "Sweet Marie" boasts an earthiness to go with the ethereal haze. "That Old Road" is mesmerizing and can be best described as a soulful Mazzy Star. "Angel Tongue" feels like someone has turned the tempo down on an old Rose Chronicles record.

The title track is the least effective of the set. It drags and lacks the focus of the rest of the EP, in the end failing to wash over you with the atmospheres.

All in all though, there are few bands who are making dream pop as memorable as The Infinity Intention. It will be interesting to see how the band follows up on this one.

Best track: "Sweet Marie"

Track listing for Under the Water:

Sweet Marie
That Old Road
Angel Tongue
Under the Water

7.0/10 - Toronto Snobs Music

Laura Aidanblaise of Toronto released her aptly-named debut EP, Get Thee to the World in 2007. Did she really need another four years to release a second EP with only four tracks?

Only if you believe wine does not improve with age. In her own words, Aidanblaise says her goal was something “beautiful and weathered” with Under the Water (self-released, 2011). There is a sense that the songs percolated beneath the surface for some time before being brought to disk by the Infinity Intention: Aidanblaise, Mike Olsen (who brought plenty of indie cred and co-produced and engineered the EP) and Andrew Masuda.

Aidanblaise wrote and composed all four tracks, which as the EP title suggests, have in common a foreboding quality that make the listener wonder what lurks in the currents below. In “That Old Road,” it’s the bleakness of a blue-collar life. In “Sweet Marie,” the strongest track on the EP, it’s acknowledging the need to connect with the primal, both in nature and emotions. Although Aidanblaise lists psychedelic music and indie rock of the 90s as inspiration, and these influences are evident in her earlier work, Under the Water channels her other muse, neo/classic folk, and even a touch of country.

Vocally, Aidanblaise is easy on the ear, at times reminiscent of Black Mountain’s Amber Webber sans vibrato. If the name of her band is any indication, you’ll be hearing more of it. - NXEW

I love this record. Everything about it (except the length). But it's one of those ones that is hard to put my love into words. I just adore it and it's hard to tell you why.

She does that vocal distortion thing where it sounds like the voice is right up front, mixed closer than the rest. Giving it a little tinny quality, but in a good way. This is especially prominent on Under the Water

I think my favorite song is Mary Go Round. My iPod seems to agree as it plays this one a LOT. I love how it starts out really sparse but then when she gets really worked up her words mangle slightly. It's so emotional. You are right there with her. I get a little unsettled that she uses the N word, but I guess that's part of what she is trying to do to us with the song. It's very effective.

This is such a cool record. It's got great melodies, great instrumentation and really fantastic songwriting. It's a little eerie and in the PJ Harvey vein. This is a fantastic album, I just wish it were longer.

Posted on November 15, 2007 - Collected Sounds -Amy Lotsberg Collected Sounds

“Get Thee to the World”

Laura Aidanblaise

This pulpy, explosive masterpiece moves into any atmosphere with cat-like grace and darker hue of sustain. If Fiona Apple, Bjork were to adopt and raise a child, PJ Harvey would be backing Laura’s tours. “Get Thee to the World” ebbs a flows with a stream of pouring images—bohemian and strikingly unique—all held together by a strong vocal presence, soulful tones, and a musical command all her own. Laura Aidanblaise can be summed up as strange fruit—tasteful rhythmic poetry, raw and unadulterated emotion, and a choice selection of words with flawless delivery. A masterpiece!

Tr. 1 “Bloodlove” – A pulpy opening that flows with great vocal development, “Bloodlove” is filled with a colloquial collection of strange and alluring bohemian images. Poetic and chic, Laura’s talent shines especially with the chorus that seems driven by a greater force than that most artists have ever mused.

Tr. 3 “Mary Go Round” – This bluesy piece is a swing-sway masterpiece that lurks under your skin reaching the depths emotion. A well arranged piece that unfolds like a painter’s masterwork.

Tr. 4 “That Old Road” – This recording reaches the limits of human conditions and presents them in a very gypsy like happenstance. Like the progression of an old road, the path is laden and beat down by the progression of a sorrowful lot. Laura presents listeners with a collage of images and perspectives that will blow a fragile mind away, and bring it back to the harsh mysteries of life.

- Ron Edward Ingalla

Thursday, October 18, 2007
CD Review: Laura Aidanblaise- Get Thee to the World
Artist: Laura Aidanblaise
Title: Get Thee to the World
Website: http://www.aidanblaise.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lauraaidanblaise
Style: Freak Folk
Label: Unsigned
Rating: 9 out of 10


Sometimes an artist's PR can be her own worst enemy. Case in point: the otherwise brilliant, inventive and eclectic Laura Aidanblaise. When I cracked open the press kit and read, "She collects gargoyles, makes soap as a hobby", I thought, well, so does my crazy old aunt, but I don't want to her sing. I sighed, put the CD into the player and was thrilled. Goofy pitch aside, Get Thee to the World is a great CD.

Aidanblaise's voice is alternatively silky and aggressive. She's got a beautiful voice, but she's not afraid to make it ugly to make a point or make it jerky to create a phrasing effect that pulls the listener through like she does in a song like the first track, "Bloodlove", in which the lyrics pile up on top of each other in a crazy quilt of logic backed by an acoustic guitar strumming behind her.

The sixth track, "Debauched" is a demented cabaret piece worthy of Kate Bush or Tori Amos with showy vocal movements and demonic piano filling in the spaces with discordant movements and by the end the odd Kurt Weil addition of, is that a dropping coin? A harpsichord? Thunder? It's like the Threepenny Opera filtered through an Ella Fitzgerald sensibility.

While Aidanblaise is no slouch when it comes to lyrically exploring the seedy underbelly of life, she's not afraid to lighten it up a truly beautiful song like "Wrinkles", the closing track of the disc.

Indeed, it's a beautiful coda to the rest of the album, that Aidenbalise, a deft lyricist, handles beautifully, celebrating the hard warn wrinkles of old friends as an antidote to the meanness of the world. Aidanblaise doesn't seem to play out of the Toronto area too often, which is a shame. Her talent and music deserve the widest audience possible.

- Indie Music Stop- Michael Dittman

Toronto based singer/songwriter Laura Aidenblaise released her self titled debut EP in 2004 and now 3 years later, she returns with the new 7 track EP "Get thee to the world".
She is a talented vocalist with a voice and songs somewhere between Janis Joplin and Joan Osbourne, the music is acoustic based but can still be considered as bluesrock with elements of folkrock.

I wasn't so sure that this was a good combination but the second time I listened to this EP, I really do must say that Laura Aidenblaise knows exactly what she's doing.
She's the real thing with heartfelt melodies and thoughtful lyrics, Laura describes her music as Lo-Fi Earth Rock which is perfect if you ask me.
Highlights:Bloodlove, Debauched - melodic.net - Kaj Roth

There’s a fine line between an album that ends when it should and an album that needs one or two more tracks. On one hand, I’m excited when it leaves me wanting more, but, that’s the thing, I’m often left feeling incomplete. Toronto-based Laura Aidenblaise’s Get Thee to the World is an album that brings dark lyrics and lo-fi guitar stripped down to expose the layers are revealed in her voice. Get Thee to the World is an offering to the haunted underbelly of our own psyche, in the vein of early Tori Amos and, most recently, Imogen Heap and Regina Spektor.

Aidenblaise’s storytelling is about warnings and experiences, as she states that “you can’t pick your battles” in a song that prays to its listener to stay far from “That Old Road,” the song’s title. The last track, “Wrinkles,” describes an intimate moment between two friends: “this is how you know somebody well, you can see the wrinkles in their eyes,” revealing these aren’t just stories from dreams; this is a young woman with much to offer the world. While, it’s easy to get caught in her classically trained voice, the minor chords she chooses demonstrate a playful and deep dreamworld, and I couldn’t help but want to listen again and again.
- Feminist Review- Courtney Ham

From Toronto comes a new singer-songwriter with an intensity of delivery rivalling that of PJ Harvey. There's so much emotion in Laura Aidanblaise's voice you worry she's about to implode. The insistent intensity and melodic repetition may put off some listeners, but I find it haunting and vivid. Her seven-song disc is just about as sparely recorded as can be - just her voice and guitar on most songs - and it works fine; there's isn't much that swelling synths or dramatic drum fills could do to elevate or further focus the music. The last two songs do feature more instruments, but they're used efficiently and tastefully.

"Boredom is the enemy and all that it attracts..." The words and melodies call to mind the skewed lyricism of Tori Amos's early work, and the lyrical power suggests Ani DiFranco without the guitar pyrotechnics. There's also a theatrical quality to the tunes that brings to mind certain Broadway music, like Sondheim. But the main point is that Laura Aidanblaise is an original new voice - probably not for everybody, but with a lot to say. Draw the curtains, brew some strong tea, and check her out. - Blogcritics Magazine - Jon Sobel

When Laura Aidanblaise sings, you know her eyes must be closed. She's that kind of singer. Her words are those kinds of words.

There's a human connection to the songs on Get Thee To The World. A lot of the themes and imagery are dark, but there's something you can grasp. You can feel the music, and you can feel the soul behind it.

"Debauched" is the black sheep of this EP. The other songs feature very bare and somewhat light guitar work, while this one is all piano -- very heavy, dark, and minor. There's more layering and random noises too: coins dropping (which made me smile, because that's straight out of Apple's Garage Band software), howling voices, strings, Halloween-style organs, banging doors, and what sounds like silverware. It lends to the creepy sound of the song, which channels the demons of Tori Amos and Shara Worden, but in context of the rest of the album, it's a little out of place. Well... a lot out of place. But somehow, this managed to be one of the most infectious songs.

Another somewhat unrelated song is the EP's closer, "Wrinkles." It's kind of sweet, compared to the rest of the tracks. "This is how you know you know somebody well/ You can see the wrinkles in their eyes/ This is how you know you've got a true friend by your side..." Yeah, cute and sort of misplaced, but to be honest, it's a nice ending to the dark forest path Miss Aidanblaise made us walk through to get here. This is our gingerbread house -- our grandmother's warm embrace. No matter that we might get eaten up in a bit; it's nice to feel comfortable and warm for a while.

- Rachel Eisenberg at Redefine magazine

“Get Thee to the World” shows Aidanblaise as one of the most innovative indie artists currently creating music. While it is a forgone conclusion that most instrumentation is created to highlight a singer, Aidanblaise takes this to its’ logical conclusion. The pacing and emotional intensity of the instrumentation is directly linked to Aidanblaise’s vocals, something that becomes clear during “That Old Road”. While the song may sound a little bare at time, the organic approach allows a raw, visceral intensity that few artists can channel.

“That Old Road” ends quietly, but individuals are forever changed by the powerful vocals of Aidanblaise. “Charlie’s Guns” flips the script in that the instrumentation starts the track, instead of being influenced by the vocals. This means that there is a little dissention present between these two parts of Aidanblaise’s sound. This does not create musical dissonance, but rather enables both pieces to ratchet themselves up in a rivalry. What results is a different sound for Aidanblaise and one in which all listeners will be enthralled. The song is deliberate and quiet, but this is largely a façade. The façade hides an anger and energy in Aidanblaise’s voice that comes forth during the chorus, and links Aidanblaise to prior singers like Fiona Apple and Bjork. “Bloodlove” provides yet another style to link to Aidanblaise. While there is an outward sound that is similar to other songs on the EP, Aidanblaise’s vocals brings her into a Vetiver /Jana Hunter / Dicristina direction.

The tracks on “Get Thee to the World” are cohesive, even if they do direct listeners to different styles and approaches. “Bloodlove” includes a chorus that will actually bring listeners to sing along after their first few listens to “Get Thee to the World”. The replay value of this EP is only helped by the inclusion of a track like “Bloodlove”, as it completely demolishes any ideas that individuals may have about who Aidanblaise is, who Aidanblaise is influenced by, and what styles of music will be present on “Get Thee to the World”. I have no doubt in my mind that Aidanblaise will be able to transfer the energy and skill shown on this EP to a longer format. Keep an eye on Aidanblaise and pick up that full-length release, as I believe that she still have many other directions in which she could take her music. The style may be a little specialized, but the rewards will be great if individuals give enough of their attention to this EP.

Top Track: Bloodlove

Rating: 6.9/10
- neufutur magazine