Dancing With Angels - Beauty in Chaos (33.3 Music Collective)

I suspect that if Michael Ciravolo were to throw a “works party” for those in his collaborative circle, it would outshine even the most prestigious music awards event, such is the weight and scope of his address book. Actually, those involved in the fourth Beauty in Chaos album alone would constitute a pretty glittering gathering of the great and good of the global music community. There are, arguably, only two types of musicians in the rock world: those in Michael’s address book and those trying to attract his attention. (Citation required, but I’m happy to go with it.)

If you ask the man himself about the new album Dancing With Angels, he describes it as sort of a “sonic regression and a sonic progression”, explaining that he has reached back to some of the influences and styles found on earlier albums, the post-rock of the debut album, the more stark sounds that run through The Storm Before The Calm and a touch of the shaded dream-gaze of Behind the Veil to build the required momentum to launch forward into this new release.

And what an excellent record it is, as if we expected anything less. Again, it features plenty of old friends and new acquaintances, big names, and more underground music makers. For me, and probably many others, the biggest name of all is one of his most frequent collaborators, Wayne Hussey, who, along with his wife Cinthya, joins Ciravolo for the album’s lead single, “Diving For Pearls,” a song that wouldn’t have been out of place in The Mission’s Carved in Sand era.

Julian Shah-Tayler appears on “Kiss Me (Goodbye),” a song that blends raucous guitar riffs with silky synth runs and echoes, to some degree, Tayler’s own Bowie-inspired style. Similarly, opener “Present Tense” owes its dark, clinical gothic vibe to William and Sarah Rose Faith, and “Hollow” is the perfect shimmering, gothic-pop-rock-balladic showcase for Cynthia Isabella’s gorgeous vocals.

The great thing about such collaborations is Michael Ciravolo’s ability to bring the best out of those he works with, allowing them to play to their natural strengths whilst also making music that fits naturally under the Beauty in Chaos umbrella. And it is that ability to craft songs that would be as at home on a Beauty in Chaos album as it would on the artists won, the art of finding the perfect middle ground, that makes albums such as Dancing With Angels, and indeed everything that has gone before it, such fantastic experiences.

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Diving For Pearls CD single order