Out of Our Mouths

Illuminea's second album, "Out of Our Mouths," is filled with introspective songs from a band that assembled a favorable fan base after the release of their 2004 debut album, "Nightlight." The group's three songwriters, Jen Appel, Marc Goodman and Minna Choi penned this 12-track album that coolly expresses the core of their feelings and will penetrate the souls of any listener who tunes their ears to Illuminea's marvelous sound.

On "Build Your Own" an indecisive rhythm begins the song as the pattern of notes becomes quite odd. The vocalist, alongside benign guitar play, repeatedly sings the lyric, "Said too much to ask." The phrase is enigmatic, but the pace is interesting.

"To Lose You as a Friend" has relaxing guitar play and not much else, as a female vocalist sings about how it feels to lose someone she viewed as both her beau and her closest confidante. "To lose you as a friend. To lose you as a friend is so much harder to lose you as a lover. Your kiss is so unstable. It's so much harder to me. No you don't have to ask. Now for the time daylight just blinding you/But when the sun rises. You'll see how sad it really can be." It seems, with this track, the female vocalist is telling listeners how difficult it is for her to lose a certain someone she put on so many pedestals and the pain of the loss is so bad that it is blinding her.

The title track has the female vocalist using her sonorous vocals along with mild piano work to sing about the emotions and words that are flying from her mouth. "Out of his mouth, there came a lie. Deep in my heart he found a soul's to cry. Now the world knows I've gone too far. But now he's trapped in a hardening heart. He'll keep his love locked away from out of his mouth." The pitch of her timbre is so hypnotic and measured that listeners will no doubt fall under its spell.

"Out of Our Mouths," from Illuminea, is a record from an indie rock group whose musicality is ever changing. Their original name, Illumina, was altered to differentiate themselves from a British group and a video game sword. This modification further shows Illuminea's evolving nature and makes them an act to be on the look out for.