{"id":858,"date":"2014-02-07T10:36:47","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T15:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=858"},"modified":"2014-02-14T10:02:14","modified_gmt":"2014-02-14T15:02:14","slug":"snowbird-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowbird <br>Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-859\" alt=\"Snowbird, Moon\" src=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg 250w, https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a>As bassist for the Cocteau Twins, Simon Raymonde was involved with some of the greatest records ever laid to wax, though as evidenced in <i>Facing the Other Way: The Story of 4AD<\/i>, those records probably would have been made with or without him (as some of them indeed were). Since the Cocteuas\u2019 disbandment, he&#8217;s kept a low profile, working, with the exception of one solo record and a couple other projects, behind the scenes as head of the Bella Union label. It is this role, however, that led him to Stephanie Dosen, his accomplice in Snowbird. After Raymonde released a solo album by the singer on Bella Union in 2007, the two eventually conspired to collaborate across the seas (Raymonde lives in London and Dosen is from North Carolina), with the result being <i>Moon<\/i>, released, of course, on Bella Union.<\/p>\n<p>Comparing Dosen&#8217;s voice to Cocteau Twins chantreuse Elizabeth Fraser is inevitable, if unfair\u2014who can compare to \u201cthe voice of God,\u201d as Fraser was once called? Still, it&#8217;s hard not to be reminded of Raymonde\u2019s former bandmate when listening to leadoff \u201cI Heard the Owl Call My Name.\u201d Here, Dosen\u2019s multi-layered soprano is matched to chiming guitars and mechanized beats that also recall Raymonde\u2019s past work. But with Simon having composed the majority of the album on a newly acquired grand piano, the lion&#8217;s share of the record is a minimal mix of acoustic instruments. (If one wanted to compare it to a Cocteau Twins\u2019 record, <i>Victorialand<\/i> would be the most apt, which is ironic because Raymonde didn\u2019t play on it.) As such, this is much quieter and more reserved music, and Dosen and Raymonde have given Snowbird a firm identity of its own. \u201cPorcelain\u201d is enchantingly intimate, a mix of piano, voice, and muted synthetic strings. Much of the record continues in this vein, just a mix of two or three elements, before \u201cHeart of the Woods\u201d ends the album much as it began, utilizing drum machine beats and phased guitars, but with horns added to the mix this time. Few artists could live up to a legacy like that of the Cocteau Twins, but aided by a muse in Dosen, Raymonde has successfully stepped out of that large shadow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As bassist for the Cocteau Twins, Simon Raymonde was involved with some of the greatest records ever laid to wax, though as evidenced in <i>Facing<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[34,359,360,358],"class_list":["post-858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-review","tag-bella-union","tag-simon-raymonde","tag-snowbird"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Snowbird Moon - The Agit Reader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Snowbird Moon - The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As bassist for the Cocteau Twins, Simon Raymonde was involved with some of the greatest records ever laid to wax, though as evidenced in Facing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-07T15:36:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-02-14T15:02:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Slaybaugh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Slaybaugh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Stephen Slaybaugh\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/4c0a2e33892559e5e2d68fa9de669d89\"},\"headline\":\"Snowbird Moon\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-07T15:36:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-14T15:02:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/\"},\"wordCount\":376,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Album Review\",\"Bella Union\",\"Simon Raymonde\",\"Snowbird\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Album Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/\",\"name\":\"Snowbird Moon - The Agit Reader\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-07T15:36:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-14T15:02:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"Snowbird, Moon\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Snowbird Moon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\",\"name\":\"The Agit Reader\",\"description\":\"a music webzine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Agit Reader\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg\",\"width\":339,\"height\":149,\"caption\":\"The Agit Reader\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/agitreader\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/4c0a2e33892559e5e2d68fa9de669d89\",\"name\":\"Stephen Slaybaugh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5baa5d2f0bfecad8048ca1b8989016c4f217fe9576ef2397c74a2674fb56b558?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5baa5d2f0bfecad8048ca1b8989016c4f217fe9576ef2397c74a2674fb56b558?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Stephen Slaybaugh\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/author\/sdslaybaugh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Snowbird Moon - The Agit Reader","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Snowbird Moon - The Agit Reader","og_description":"As bassist for the Cocteau Twins, Simon Raymonde was involved with some of the greatest records ever laid to wax, though as evidenced in Facing","og_url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/","og_site_name":"The Agit Reader","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader","article_published_time":"2014-02-07T15:36:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-02-14T15:02:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Stephen Slaybaugh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@agitreader","twitter_site":"@agitreader","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephen Slaybaugh","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/"},"author":{"name":"Stephen Slaybaugh","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/4c0a2e33892559e5e2d68fa9de669d89"},"headline":"Snowbird Moon","datePublished":"2014-02-07T15:36:47+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-14T15:02:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/"},"wordCount":376,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg","keywords":["Album Review","Bella Union","Simon Raymonde","Snowbird"],"articleSection":["Album Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/","name":"Snowbird Moon - The Agit Reader","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg","datePublished":"2014-02-07T15:36:47+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-14T15:02:14+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Snowbird-Moon.jpg","width":250,"height":250,"caption":"Snowbird, Moon"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/snowbird-moon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Snowbird Moon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/","name":"The Agit Reader","description":"a music webzine","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization","name":"The Agit Reader","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg","width":339,"height":149,"caption":"The Agit Reader"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader","https:\/\/x.com\/agitreader"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/4c0a2e33892559e5e2d68fa9de669d89","name":"Stephen Slaybaugh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5baa5d2f0bfecad8048ca1b8989016c4f217fe9576ef2397c74a2674fb56b558?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5baa5d2f0bfecad8048ca1b8989016c4f217fe9576ef2397c74a2674fb56b558?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Stephen Slaybaugh"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/agitreader.com"],"url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/author\/sdslaybaugh\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Up74-dQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":865,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions\/865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}