Reformed Innocent

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Singer-songwriter Nathan Cade blends a haunting array of ambient, trip-hop, folk, and electronica styles on his debut album, REFORMED INNOCENT. The eleven tracks weave a lyrical and sonic spell covering themes of deception, lust, defiance, love, and ultimately, redemption. With this moody troubadour's hypnotic vocals and harrowing lyrics leading the way, REFORMED INNOCENT is a journey through the often mystical but thirst-quenching waters of human experience.

Reformed Innocent
Average customer rating:

Poetic mix of styles

Great debut album

Moving poetry

Unique, soulfull new voice

Reformed Innocent

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
General | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00007E90F
Release Date: 2002-12-15

Master of the Sea
Heaven Blue
Shadow Warrior
All My Heart (In Dreams)
Restoration
BlueHawk's Bane
Aquero
Purify
Reformed Innocent
Defy (Angelus)
Revelation

Album Description

Singer-songwriter Nathan Cade blends a haunting array of ambient, trip-hop, folk, and electronica styles on his debut album, REFORMED INNOCENT. The eleven tracks weave a lyrical and sonic spell covering themes of deception, lust, defiance, love, and ultimately, redemption. With this moody troubadour's hypnotic vocals and harrowing lyrics leading the way, REFORMED INNOCENT is a journey through the often mystical but thirst-quenching waters of human experience.

Customer Reviews:

Poetic mix of styles.......2003-04-16

Cade does weave a good spell here. He's got a nice emotional baritone and the songs are mystical, spiritual, brooding. The melodies are haunting, for the most part and lyrics very intelligent (refreshing for a change). Trip-hop bits here and there, some folkish overtones, hip-hop back beats, and even some Celtic. It's great night music. very thoughtful and rich. The Bluehawk story-song is a classic -- not wuite sure what it's about, other than Native American indians and oppression, all set to a stark hip hop groove. Nice mix. Aquero is another standout, as is the first track and heaven Blue. All My Heart is a hymn, or a love song, but very laid-back and gentle. A striking first album. I'd like to see what he does with a future project. This record made me very emotional for som reason.

Great debut album.......2003-02-08

Cade is very much in the way of Depeche Mode in sound and vocals; his music, though is much darker and more personally complex. More poetic. The grooves are world grooves with some hynotic electro-fied bells & whistles. The stand-out is the heart and emotion evident in the songs. It has almost a celtic, ambient feel with more edge and political posture. A totally unique debut and worth it.

Moving poetry.......2002-12-31

I love his voice and I love his poetry. Very deep and hypnotic styles and rhythms. I heard about this record from my dormie here at University of Florida and I see the album was recorded here in Gainesville...kewl. Does anyone know if he lives here or is playing sometime on campus? I would love to see how he sings these songs in a club. Nathan you're beautiful.xxx ooo Marcy G

Unique, soulfull new voice.......2002-12-17

There are many fantastic singer-songwriters today, from new guys like David Gray with his observations about life to some of the more band-orientated writers like Dave Matthews. Now we have been introduced to someone totally new here>>> Nathan Cade. I heard one of the cuts on this album (Shadow Warrior) on college radio in North Florida and was first thinking I was listening to something new by Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode. The voice was so similar it was spooky. But as the song went on, I realized differently. But the track, with its good angel-bad angel hook was interesting enough for me to buy the whole album. What a trip. First, this guy has done hugely experimental things (taking the 'Ave Maria' and turning it into a hip-hop groove on the shortcomings of "dead institutions"!!) and a 7-minute Native American chant with a militant drum charge, telling a story-song of a warrior and his betrayal by a maiden who, I may be wrong bit I don't think so, represents the Catholic religion? ("now I must fly on homeward to Babylon" she sings after she lures him to fall through the ice into a river). This is serious stuff, and the writing is superb throughout this song and the others. Very poetic and the melodies are a strong point>>they tend to soar and the chord changes are distinctly the ones used by soul or Gospel singers. But it's ambient. Go figure? Solidly constructed. Cade uses metaphors alot, but strong ones: earth, air, fire, water, heaven are prominent and stand for more than what they appear to stand for. He tries some Celtic tricks, for example on the first cut Master of the Sea, which floats like an old shipwreck ghost-story on mournfull strings and hip-hop groove, and the drive of the track and the anger in the voice make it impossible to get this chant out of your head. You love to sing along with this one. You can't help it. There are some real dark ambient.techno pieces. Heaven Blue is a BIG track that you might hear on Dead Can Dance or Massive Attack. The production values are high and the lyrics are completely mystical and up in the air.It's darker than dark. The mystical lyrics are one perhaps drawback on Cade's album (though not for me), because the content is sometimes surreal and meaning unclear. But it's always beautiful. he throws in a few simple piano & strings numbers>>All My Heart is a tender ballad with lyrics that are so simple they make a real interesting contrast with the rest of the disc, and Aquaro is like a religious piece. Voice is great. The title track is fresh...a relaxed coffee-house sigh about some former love or against being outcast. It hypnotizes and bounces on a snare drum & bass accompaniment. It's almost an acapella number, but it lets you into the writer's soul more than any other song. You can interpet the lyrics in a many different angles. The album has a "theme album" feel, and the theme seems to be fallout from some severe episode of sadness that gives little glimpses of hope in spots("I saw you in dreams...you will love me forever" from all my Heart is one example). Cade is an interesting and talented new voice. Dudes need sad-but-honest music once in awhile, especially in dark days. It helps. For a first album this is very serious work and it deserves to have a audience. It makes the current pop bilge look even more bilgy. Artists like this don't come along very often, and if he manages to get even better at what he does, I think he'll be going places. I give it five stars for being original and well-sung and rather well-written.This album has a thoughtfulness that stays with you and needs to be understood.

Music:

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