Noldor — In the Woods of Elfes
Proceedings get underway with the track 'Fangorn', replete with forest sounds and crackling wood fires - but that's all this track is compiled of! Added to the forest sounds having a tropical edge it jars somewhat with Middle-earth's geography (this is again repeated on the third track, 'Düsterwald 3'. As with the majority of tracks on 'In the Woods...' (and there are 13) there is a lot of looping applied which sees competent short arrangements like those in 'Sternen Himmel (Elbereth Gilthoniel)' and 'Elbenzauber', sustained beyond their relevance, thus reducing the listener's interest.
A further problem for the listener is that each track stops as suddenly as the next begins - some time perfecting fade-outs and interval setting may alleviate this however. Given the subject matter of each track it's surprising they don't sound more in context: 'Gondolin' sounds almost like a slowed and distorted Lynchian cabaret and does not reflect an image of the hidden city, and while 'Korsaren Von Umbar' does in fact have eastern overtones, these again are looped and maybe too docile to conjure up an image of marauding Corsairs feasting between their violent forays. Some of the remaining tracks such as 'Ainur' and 'Düsterwald' just sound too weak, or even whimsical to a degree. It would be refreshing to hear a break from the traditional use of pensive strings and murmuring synths used in all things Elven related. 'Lorien' has too much of an echo of Vangelis' 'Rachel's Theme' to really convince.
One track that really shows potential is 'Unsterbliche Liebe 1' which remains within the context of its title. Gently ebbing and compositionally capable it is the one stand out track on 'In the Woods...', but again its robbed of any real presence by being looped and under-developed; it simply feels like a wasted opportunity. If only Noldor could have the conviction and confidence to avoid the temptation of looping so many tracks and instead work on composing more substantial and engaging arrangements.There is talent within Noldor, but at the moment it is unable to flourish or impress due to too many tracks with too little to say. This issue is important given that their inspiration is narrative fiction, and as such a majority of listeners will already have an image of the subject in their heads. One further aspect which may better contextualize some of the tracks may be the addition of spoken word (used sparingly) lifted from Tolkien's narrative to give the tracks an added dimension. Similar, albeit more developed, artists would be Za Frûmi and Uruk Hai. Noldor still sound like a fledgling act, but one with promise if their vision is nurtured properly.