 "Delicate pop songs sparse on instrumentation but long on emotion"
Alternative Press - The Lowdown more "Cinematic never pins itself into a definable corner, with the possible exception of "low key." Ethereal is a quality, especially in that the quiet space is used to great impact, but at its heart the record is creamy guitar rock, with atmosphere taking a different breath within every track, and mysterious effects subtlety introducing themselves throughout repeated listens. It's all held together beautifully, meticulously, by Yoshida's voice-occasionally soaring, never breathy, always strong, like a vocal pedigree proving its worth."
Chicago's New City - Raw Material - Dave Chamberlain more... "Her voice can be powerful, yet gentle, strong yet subtle. Definitely worth the wait."
www.impactpress.com - (AL) "Beneath the layers of electronic noises and manipulations are strong, catchy melodies, epitomized by the opening track, "Bleed." This is a smart, tasteful and imaginative take on rock 'n' roll"
Chicago Tribune's Metromix - demo review - Chris Brown more... "The singer's varied delivery, strong sense of melody, and effortless cool drive along the propulsive "Go On," as well as more laidback tracks like the fractured "Bed Eyes.""
www.cornelldailysun.com - Ed Howard "These double-hinged doors resist an effortless entrance into the weather-beaten foundation where time is at seemingly peaceful standstill. Chiyoko has taken the stage and disregarded your every attempt to ignore these trivial surroundings by bringing to light a vision, picturesque and not always so automatic in daily routine, this is cinematic. Music for people nostalgic of simpler times, there is a good deal of personal fortune and its subsequent antithesis in these persuasive feminine vocals, and if that's not enough, it has a tendency to rock now and again, too."
www.lostatsea.com - June Woons "Her voice is expressive and haunting, perhaps in the same world as Cat Power (particularly the unlisted track 9) or Tori Amos (but without being lame, mind you). The instrumentation is lush but without upstaging Chiyoko´s heart-filled turtle-tail watching journeys."
www.misterridiculous.com - by James Squeaky more... "While Chiyoko occasionally reminds of the best parts of Rebecca Gates, Tanya Donnelly and Kristin Hersh, she's not a bit derivative. She occasionally sounds like an interesting blend of the people she's worked with in the past. Cinematic at times reminds me like a wonderfully dreamy, Chiyoko-fronted collaboration between Modest Mouse and Califone."
www.mundanesounds.com "Described as Bjork-like (though I don't hear it), Chiyoko really knows how to transcend the "singer as narrator" to "voice as instrument." Simply enchanting."
www.pulsetc.com - by Celeste Tabora "To call this her first proper solo record seems odd after her work with Squash Blossom and the more documented SWEEDER, but this really is. A realized life statement is probably a more proper term and in this stunning album, Chiyoko puts forth an earnest and soul wrenching deconstruction masterpiece, filled with slow, melancholic and sweepingly emotional ballads that shutter with a BJORKian transcendence. Mostly acoustic guitars under the more commonly referenced KRISTEN HERSH-sounding vocals filled in with symphonic atmospheres, internal and primal percussive backdrops and the more traditional violin, drums, electric guitars and keyboards. Passion can sometimes win everything and here it does and thus make this very recommended!!!!!!! "
www.reckless.com more... buy cinematic... From the opening track, "Smile", with its Pink Floyd/Radiohead vibe (think wind-like effects, a piano playing one key at a time, simple guitar work and lots of reverb) to the closing track, "Cinematic", and all the swirling, melodic tracks in between, you can´t help but be swept up in Chiyoko´s strange but lovely world. The effects-heavy "Soiled Summer" sounds like Portishead -- if Chan Marshall sanglead rather than Beth Gibbons.
www.splendidezine.com - by Amy Leach more.. "On tracks like "More Than This," Chiyoko's raw, soulful vocals trade off with sliding strings and gloomy synth and piano lines for a noirish, minor-key sound that will be familiar to fans of Portishead, Goldfrapp or Cat Power. Other songs, like the rocking but somehow Cocteau Twins-reminiscent "Go On," bring indie guitars into the foreground but maintain the melancholy mood. This isn't a feel-good release, by any means. But neither is it a soundtrack for hopelessness - there's an underlying, hidden warmth here that keeps Cinematic from the brink. Lonely nights are a fact of life, but for most of us there's a brighter day tomorrow. Chiyoko seems to recognize that; Cinematic is dark but not depressed, down but not doomed."
wildcat.arizona.edu - by Phil Leckman "Cinematic is the solo debut from Chiyoko, a Chicago music-scene veteran who fronted the now defunct Squash Blossom and contributed background vocals to records by Modest Mouse and June Of 44. Cinematic is an indie rock album layered with electronic instrumentation; however, Chiyoko and collaborator/producer Brian Deck don´t smother these songs with programming and keyboards, allowing Chiyoko´s voice, a mix of Tori Amos's whine and Hope Sandoval´s seduction, to slowly draw in the listener."
Illinois Entertainer - by Joseph Simek |
