Through Small Windows by Alsace Lorraine has just too little for how many songs there actually are. The album was released on August 14, 2001 with 16 tracks and a runtime of 40 minutes and 18 seconds. It was distributed on CDs and vinyl LPs throughout the United States. Their label, Darla Records, is known for artists and bands such as American Analog Set, Hammock, Robin Guthrie and The Radio Dept. This album is described to be dream pop, indie pop and trip hop.
Alsace Lorraine was a Chicago-based band that was heavily influenced by the Factory Records era and 80s synth-pop. During the time around the release of Through Small Windows the group’s members were Paul Francke (bassist and songwriter), Hewson Chen (instrumentalist, no proper credits) and Caitlin Brice (lead vocals). Together the trio makes these sweet songs with breathy vocals, repeating drums and an overall gloomy feel; of course that is what I get from them. The band was forced into a hiatus when Paul Francake went into a coma, but after recovering Paul released another album with different members in 2007. Unfortunately the band just fizzled out of existence after that.
None of the songs are actually bad, everything else was just done wrong in my opinion. The longest song in the album is three and a half minutes long, with the average being about a minute less than that. The core lineup of instruments never seems to change, there is usually one extra sound that really defines the song. When they do spice it up, the end result is actually really nice but it’s just uncommon in this album. My favorite tracks are “The Girl from Roanoke”, “Swing Low, Constellation” and “Though I’ve Never Seen You. Overall, the bulk of it is just nothing.
I think so much could’ve been taken out of this album and it would have been the exact same, there was just so much forgettable bloat. Now I will never be opposed to more music but I feel it could’ve been handled differently. I just imagine that the band was trying to throw things at the wall and hoping one song would tell them where to go next. Overall, Through Small Windows is getting a 3/5 because there was potential but they put too much effort into songs that weren’t going to go anywhere. I will admit though the vocals are so nice and are always a treat on this album.
