Tales From The Two Hill Heart / Sibylline Machine

They Say...

Review by Greg Adams, All Music Guide

Did the Channel repair to Big Pink to record their Basement Tapes? Emerge from a cocaine blizzard to unveil the sprawling indulgence of a Tusk? Squabble and meditate their way to a schizophrenic White Album? It turns out that the two-disc Tales from the Two Hill Heart/Sibylline Machine is nothing like any of those famous double albums, and is actually more of a two-fer -- two separate albums in one package. The first disc, Tales from the Two Hill Heart, features the songs of mainstay Colby Pennington and exhibits the distinctive Channel sound as heard on their 2004 album, Personalized. The Channel has grown more polished and musicianly with each release, layering on harmonies like a modern Crosby, Stills & Nash while writing country-flavored songs reminiscent of the crunchy granola suites of early-'70s singer/songwriters. "The Deserter," "The Man I Don't Remember," and "The Daring Eye" -- which incorporates a musical saw -- are excellent additions to their songbook and show the band in top form. The 22-minute Sibylline Machine contains the songs of Jamie Reaves (formerly of the Arthurs) and is much more recondite, with impressionistic lyrics, changing time signatures, unpredictable chord progressions, and linear song structures that emphasize sonic textures over melodies. At first listen the gentle but complicated music on Sibylline Machine resembles that of Tales from the Two Hill Heart, but the similarities are superficial -- Reaves' songs are entirely different from Pennington's, and any likenesses stem from the character of the band itself rather than the songs. Comparisons to the Minders and Of Montreal are easy to make, especially since the group has named both bands in their promotional literature, but the Channel have forged their own style. With the release of this double album, however, a split personality has emerged.