Review Summary: Meadowlark (Premonition) proved to me that sound is in fact the most powerful medium of art in existence.
I'll be completely honest with you; reviewing a work like
Meadowlark (Premonition) is a daunting task. Such a statement seems entirely counter-intuitive, as the 33-minute drone masterpiece which is
Meadowlark seems stupidly simple in it's most basic form. This album features one, half-hour song which is comprised of a slightly varying array of tones which repeat themselves over the song's entirety. There's no structure, no real instrumentation, no musical substance. Objectively, this album seems to be the polar opposite of music. Analyzing this piece in terms of its musicality would prove futile, as it has close to no characteristics which would allow for the term "music" to be appropriately used as a description. Herein lies the difficulty in reviewing
Meadowlark. Seeing as how the sole song on the album is made up of a small set of tones spanning 30 minutes, there almost is nothing
to review. I could go on and on about the inaccessibility and the objective awfulness of this record, but instead, I'll make my best attempt at doing
Meadowlark justice by accurately detailing the otherworldly emotions that it evokes.
The only time that I listen to drone is at night when I'm in bed. This way I can dedicate my full attention to the music and not have to worry about any other distractions. For the past few nights, instead of listening to all of the other music which I promised myself I'd listen to at some point that night because I hadn't had the time to during the day, I find myself listening to
Meadowlark. I haven't a clue what it is about the utter serenity and warmth in the sounds of this single-track album that continually cause me to return to it. Every time I hear that soft tone fade in, my mind instantly settles and I feel as though I'm briefly detached from reality. For the entire duration of the time that I'm listening, my mind is incapable of worrying. The sense of calm that washes over me every time I listen to the album could be described as nothing less than spellbinding.
The tone becomes higher in pitch every now and then, this being the only real change that ever occurs in the piece. The paramount quality of this album is surely the introspection that it allows for. It's as though the music provides a palette and paintbrush with your mind being the blank canvas, and you are able to paint whatever picture you so desire. Although it sounds somewhat cliche,
Meadowlark truly can be the score to any scenario whatsoever. While being extremely gorgeous, the tones manage to be bittersweet, evoking both cheerful and dismal emotions. However, this is all purely subjective, based entirely off of my personal experience. But, that genuinely is the nature of this album. The listener can make whatever he/she wants of it. Without this personal quality, this piece would be meaningless. While it may be objectively unremarkable, its subjective appeal remains enigmatic yet powerful. This album shouldn't be viewed as music, but rather as an experience, one that can only be achieved if the listener is able to understand the introspection required to properly enjoy it. So, while this half-hour drone piece is totally absurd from a musical standpoint, it can be a life-changing experience, or it can be an utter waste of time, depending completely on the mindset and willingness of the listener. That, I suppose, is truly what makes
Meadowlark so beautiful.
