Frontier

A decent attempt to transcribe Lisa Gerrard's singing, which in this song is not quite as close to glossolalia as usual. Still I wouldn't be certain of any entire line here except "the bloodstains on the floor," and attempting to find literal meaning in her lyrics (even on those occasions when English words are present and coherent) would seem futile.

This is not intended to be critical. Gerrard is an unusual and inventive singer, though perhaps not as original as often touted; the influence of Eastern European folk music is evident. (For one example, listen for the striking similarity with Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares.) I find her work more intriguing and convincing than that of 4AD labelmate Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins...again, not that I dislike the latter, although Fraser's vocalizations (heavily laden with geographical place-names & faux-Latin) get rather silly at times. One wonders whether she scans reference works for suitably exotic-sounding words to disgorge later.

Conversely, Liz Fraser at least manages to stay in key (usually)--while Gerrard sometimes wanders so far into tunelessness, one wonders whether she was able to hear the music while performing her vocals, or vice-versa. Not that I object to atonality or microtonality; I am referring to Gerrard's occasional forays into passages of "singing" in which variations in frequency seem to be as incidental as in everyday spoken speech. Understandable perhaps, as her unusual style must be physicially and emotionally demanding; it would be easy to lapse into babbling akin to that of a two-year-old, if she were to lose her concentration (or not remain in touch with her subconscious, or her Muses, or whatever).