Field Study Veda Hille 2001 Tracks 1: carnage 2: plants 3: teem 4: birdsong 5: evolver 6: carnage reprise 7: yukon ho! 8: one inch of lichen 9: tuktoyaktuk hymn 10: observations: plants 11: observations: water 12: arctic adaptations 13: conclusion: darkness 14: conclusion: light 15: song of the little wind   Reviewed by Claude Lalumière	The first time I heard Veda Hille, I was struck by the unexpected -- yet quite strong -- Gentle Giant influence found in her music, especially because of the style and sound of its complex syncopations. I was impressed by how she managed to incorporate their take on 1970s art rock, as well as a host of other influences, into her avant-garde pop. The album was Path of a Body, her first CD (but her second offering, the first, the long-unavailable Songs about People and Buildings, having only been released on cassette). Her singing style, both heartbreakingly fragile and unapologetically muscular, reminded me somewhat of Mary Margaret O'Hara, one of my favorite singers. The more I listened to the album, the more Hille's own peculiar voice and style emerged, the more enchanted I grew. With every new spin the songs moved me more and more, as the layers of meaning imbedded in the erudite and heartfelt lyrics unfolded and interacted with Hille's exuberantly expressive music. I was hooked. I was a total Veda Hille junkie, playing her albums constantly, preaching her greatness to my friends, addicted to the thrilling magic of her live performances. Now, several years and albums later, although I still love her early work, I find myself bored senseless by her new music. Field Study is the third consecutive album by the "new" Veda Hille, and it cements her new direction so firmly that it might as well be a tombstone for the "old" Veda Hille. I realize, of course, that artists evolve and change, that they should not give in to the easy temptation of simply doing the same thing over and over again, that they should strive to push the limits of their own expression and challenge their audiences. However, I can't shake the impression that Hille's new music is not so much challenging as it is complacent. Gentle Giant are often considered prog rock dinosaurs, but I've always felt that it was a mistake to anonymously lump them in with Yes, ELP and Alan Parsons. Unlike their more pretentious contemporaries, they infused their bizarre music with a wide array of influences -- from Gallic troubadours and rock 'n' roll to dixieland jazz and choir music -- that jumbled together to create uncommon and exciting rhythms. When Hille was dipping into that fountain, striving for her own strange fusion, her music was endowed with vibrant energy. Now, she is drinking from another prog rock fountain, one best left untouched: the concept album. Her albums have stopped being collections of songs. They are now suites of opaque and impenetrable tone poems exploring the theme du jour (this time something to do with birds and northern Canada). Her lyrics, once at a level comparable to that of the best of Joni Mitchell or John Cale, are now precious and distant, with none of the raw and articulate imagery that made her early songs so powerful. With Field Study, I no longer get the sense that Veda Hille is a musician pushing the limits of her art, challenging both herself and audiences. Rather, her music betrays a lack of emotional involvement, a cerebral approach that leaves the artist herself safely isolated from the work she is producing. | June 2001 Claude Lalumière is a Blue Coupe magazine contributing editor, as well as a freelance writer, editor, translator and publishing consultant. He owned and ran danger!, Montreal's chart-topping mid-1990s alternative bookstore. His published criticism can be found on his Web site.	Several years and albums later, although I still love her early work, I find myself bored senseless by her new music. Field Study is the third consecutive album by the "new" Veda Hille, and it cements her new direction so firmly that it might as well be a tombstone for the "old" Veda Hille.