THE FIRST COIL
" What a gutsy, gorgeous work, earthy and transcendant at once. Many times I've gotten goose bumps listening! I love that The First Coil is "not all pretty" (as Maeve remarks) "beauty never is." ~ Elizabeth Cunningham Author - THE PASSION OF MARY MAGDALEN January 2012
" Once every great while, even the primary colors like “ folk, rock, blues, jazz,“ can only fade when trying to categorize a vividly personal vision. Using her voice and a synthesizer, with guitar and percussion added, Serpentine Arborvitae could compose a soundtrack to David Lynch’s next film, only I think the movie should be about her. More than any hard macho-rock you can think of “The First Coil” shatters convention and routine, but in its place raises dark pagan frameworks that allow the primal spirits to enter our world. Its no surprise the ten tracks are eccentric, daring and erotic. Any good musician reaches for some common truth, but Serpentine is after the ultimate passion that channels spiritual totality through the mortal individual. Though this motif dominates her music, Serpentine has many moods and styles at her disposal; for example, the polychordal vocal patterns familiar to Bulgaria and Asia Minor. One recurring vocalization is a long keening howl that could be the pain of childbirth, and of being born simultaneously.These are ancient amoral voices that guide our world - and Serpentine can hear them. This time categories can wait. "
Mark Keating - SOUNDVIEWS MAGAZINE NYC August 1994
