The Ridge
Arcade Fire violinist Sarah Neufeld forgoes her more esoteric leanings for this accessible yet still edgy amalgam of classical, jazz, and pop. While her strings and sonically manipulated instrumentation are front and center, the eerie vocals and rhythmic flourishes distinguish plucky, ambient songs like “The Glow.” The album’s haunting, cinematic textures are bolstered by the tasteful drumming of Arcade Fire bandmate Jeremy Gara, who lets loose on the title track and provides a sturdy foundation for Neufeld to sing over on “We’ve Got a Lot.”
Composer and violinist Sarah Neufeld is a career-long touring and recording member of Arcade Fire. Her second solo album of compositions The Ridge feels less exploratory than Neufield’s previous work, but it is still a moving document of her engaging, virtuosic playing.
Neufeld continuously strikes a fine balance between the heady grandeur of classical music and the restless creative exploration of the current indie scene.
Less than a year after the release of Never Were the Way She Was, her duet album with saxophonist Colin Stetson, violinist/composer Sarah Neufeld returns with a second solo LP, The Ridge.
Following her 2015 collaboration with Colin Stetson, Arcade Fire collaborator Sarah Neufeld returns for another solo effort, with often magical results.
A flurry of anxious violin strokes opens The Ridge on its eight-minute title track, rushing headfirst into a climax of splashing cymbals and...
Violinist Sarah Neufeld is best known as a member of Arcade Fire, but her compositional style couldn't be more distant from that band's dramatic bombast. It's minimalist and repetitive, strikingly gorgeous and textural.