Sarah Longfield
Album Title: Oneiric
Record Label: Sarah Longfield
Review by Sal Serio
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Sarah Longfield - Oneiric
It’s amazing that a 5 song, 16 minute instrumental E.P. by a diminutive young lady musician could present so many challenges to the traditional rock ‘n roll listening experience. One thing is immediately obvious. Guitarist and composer Sarah Longfield is playing by nobody else’s rules but her own.
Having recently seen an overwhelming and outrageous performance by Longfield’s progressive metal group, The Fine Constant, I knew that writing a review of her music was going to present some difficulties. It’s just so completely outside the box, trying to use conventional comparisons seems pointless. But, as a point of reference, I will say that Longfield uses 8 string guitars, and does not employ typical rock chordal structures, rather a more tapping and shredding technique, and the best I can do to describe her songs is: classical metal utilizing samples and keyboard, leaving an impression of soundtracks, sometimes suspenseful and eerie, other times racing like an action film.
Poignancy is found in the sample from the movie “Amadeus” at the end of the track, “Parallels”. It’s the part where the befuddled king has to offer some sort of critique to the virtuoso composer, and can only meekly proclaim, “there’s too many notes”.
Sarah Longfield Online
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