I started off this review by writing a load of overblown drivel about Steampunk Troubadours and Stalinist Dystopias.
But then I stopped, because I realised there is not a lot that needs to be said about this album.
It is BRILLIANT.
What can I say about this album that doesn’t sound hyperbolic? It is, glorious, filled with horror, tenderness, despair, love, grime and beauty. Whilst being much darker and more serious than any of Tom’s previous albums, it is imbued with a humanity which hasn’t been as obvious before (unless songs about men transforming themselves into machines counts as humanity).
I have suspected for a while (since first hearing Rise Another Leaf from “Three Rows of Teeth”) that Tom actually has a large romantic streak running through him. On this album he has really found this voice – songs such as Satellites, Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said and Fire Flower Heart highlight this.
By the third song Satellites, with its lovely bass line, the album really gets into a stride which doesn’t then let up until the end.
Flow My tears, The Policeman Said is, I think, about a once honourable man who is now lost in some nightmare Gulag. I may be wrong. But it is superb, full of little musical flourishes and curlicues.
Even Then We’re Scaredwith its hint of a Black Sabbath “War Pigs” riff tells of how even with guns, fire, prayer, walls, databases and hiding under our blankets we are still scared of unnamed monsters.
“If you’ve got nothing to hide, then why should you be worried? There a price to be free…”, I don’t for a minute believe that Tom approves of the way our world is turning. I would love to hear the last 20 seconds live, as a 10 minute wig-out by a full band.
Fire Flower Heart is imbued with a delicate poignancy, lamenting the loss of a love who could possibly prevent disaster. Or maybe she would encourage him to press the button?
I get the feeling that all Tom’s previous works were a flexing of musical muscles, practicing for the real thing. This album is the real thing.
In no small part, I suspect that the excellence of this album is due to the work of two particular people – Jordan Brown and Daniel Bowles who between them played bass, keyboards and guitar and provided production expertise. They have found a way to get the best out of Tom.
Michael Cairns’ drumming contribution is tasteful, thankfully never overpowering the songs.
There is a strength and depth to the musical arrangements throughout the whole album – everything has a purpose to it.
Bad Elephant Music continue to astound me with the excellence of their releases. If there was any justice in the world, Radio 6 and Jools Holland would be full of music like this.
I cannot recommend this album highly enough.
Tom Slatter – vocals, guitars
Daniel Bowles – backing vocals, guitars, keyboards
Meteorological Spring is in the air and there is a buzz around the Progressive music scene which is currently a veritable hive of activity.
Music in general has seen an influx of singer/songwriters, some more of the worker bee type, scattered like pollen among the genres and trying to stick to a secure career, whilst others clearly stand out from the crowd as prime males with honey sweet tunes fit to serenade a Queen, the two recent releases from Marc Atkinson and Lee Maddison being fine examples.
Into the honeycomb flies Alan Reed with sophomore album ‘Honey On The Razor’s Edge’ and this time there’s a grittier, more assertive edge reminiscent of his work with his previous band and with echoes of solo outings by a certain fellow Scotsman nearing the twilight years of his musical output.
I have to admit that whilst I like Alan’s first solo outing it felt like it didn’t have his full confidence and was maybe reflecting in his situation at that time. With this album there is no hesitance and it’s straight in with up-tempo rippling keyboards and electric riffs on first track My Sunlit Room. Alan sounds in fine fettle blowing away any faint concerns as his vocal pipes dance a highland fling through the melody in this rousing starter that crashes to an end.
Now I mentioned another of Alan’s fellow countrymen and I have to say the main riff on Razor is very reminiscent of his output, but Alan adds his familiar style and harmonica flourishes (courtesy of a certain Mr Steve Hackett no less), as he argues with himself and exorcises demons. There is a great video release of this track on YouTube to enhance your listening pleasure on which Alan shows he’s moving on not looking back. My inside sources tell me he may have had sore skin after filming numerous takes for the video. Ah, the sacrifices a man makes for his art.
Cross My Palmwith silver and I’ll be only too happy to tell you this is a man who is not sitting on his laurels as he warns of treachery in the big smoke, but there’s no need to worry, with some nifty guitar soloing from Jeff Green and the keyboard flourishes of Mike Stobbie building to a crescendo finish it’s another belter.
Notable for their relegation until now, up pop the familiar acoustic strings on Leaving(no cause for alarm, he’s not just yet) as vocals wrangle, with lovely female harmonies on the chorus, over a twisted relationship. Now I might be mistaken but ageing ears cannot distinguish whether this track is bolstered by the stunning sound of the one and only ‘Leode’ from none other than Lazuli’s Claude Leonetti or an Ebow, either way c’est formidable.
I must also point out that Alan has an enviable trio of fine female singers assisting him on this album in Magenta’sChristina Booth, Harvest’s Monique Van Der Kolk and Weendo’s Laetitia Chaudemanche adding the cream on top of some tracks here, giving him vocal riches beyond avarice.
Not content to let the lady leave he begs she stay to the Other Side Of Morning, as he reasons with her over their differences and similarities, the good must surely out-way the bad times and Mike gets to bare the whites of his keyboards as stalwart drummer Scott Higham more than ably keeps the rhythm and beating heart of this track pumping, as he does throughout the album. This, the longest track on here builds to a fevered climax that is completed with one last gasping ‘stay’.
History lesson time, as this next track is about The Covenanter. Covenanters were Scottish Presbyterians who in 1638 signed the “National Covenant” to uphold the Presbyterian religion, and the “Solemn League and Covenant” of 1643 which was a treaty with the English Parliamentarians. The Covenanter’s made a stand for political and religious liberty that led to almost a century of persecution and their widespread migration to Ulster and the American colonies.
But their role in history was not as simple as that, as they were the children of the Protestant Reformation in Europe and sought to have the church of their belief, according to the Scriptures. Above all, there was but one Head of the Kirk – Jesus Christ, and they refused to accept the King in that role. From this opposition to the King all their troubles arose. Ushered in by the sounds of unrest, Alan protests with righteous indignation and berates the persecutors and liars throughout, casting light on Celtic roots at the heart of much of Alan’s musical heritage.
Alan is a gifted poet and romanticist, with the ability to touch the hardest of hearts, as on the penultimate track, recalling a love lost who ‘looked at me, like I Used To Be Someone. With a beautiful instrumental introduction and beat me with a haggis if I’m wrong but it may just be flowing from the lovely ‘Leode’. Tinkling ivories and guitar loops sway like smitten lovers on the dance floor in time to Alan’s lyrics. For me he never sounds better than on tracks like this, as the emotion he injects into his voice feels so genuinely heartfelt. The music swells and the wonderful sound from the beginning floats in again before the vocals tug gently at the heartstrings one last time to float delicately away on fading notes.
Alan’s work may take him away from his homeland, but whilst you can take the wee laddie out of Scotland, you can’t take Scotland out of the man, as he looks to the Northern Lighton the final offering of wistful musicality which midway through turns into an instrumental clash of clans before the keyboards kick thistles into the faces of the rest and triumphantly lead us out.
This is an album through which threads of tartan tinged tunes dance a merry jig with modern rock forces, and Alan has surrounded himself with an array of accomplished musicians to enhance the tunes pushing him firmly to the fore among his peers. I mentioned a certain fellow Scot earlier and Alan’s physical stature may not match the Big Man’s but this album proves he could well fill upcoming vacant boots.
Having had the great pleasure of meeting Mr Reed a couple of times he is a most affable chap, always willing to take the time to chat. Whilst in conversation with one of his colleagues on this album,he was described as very difficult to work with, but it was said with a wry smile and bundles of affection, because that’s the effect he has on you.
Alan is one of the nice guys in this business and he deserves every success with ‘Honey On The Razor’s Edge’, it’s a braw album. Slange!
The bewitching call of the Sirens is reported to have been irresistible. Mesmerised by the enchanting beauty of their songs, sailors were lured to their inevitable destruction on the rocks surrounding Scylla and Charybdis. Only two people are recorded as having escaped the compelling singing of these beautiful hybrid creatures: Odysseus returning home from the Trojan War who ordered his men to fill their ears with wax whilst lashing himself to the mast of his ship and Jason, leading his Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece, who overcame their siren call with the equally enthralling playing of Orpheus.
The parallels between the mythological narratives of the Sirens and Steve Hackett’s 25th solo album ‘The Night Siren’, are as fascinating as they are disconcerting. The two rocks, starkly framed on the album cover against the captivating aurora of the northern lights, may well be a nod to Scylla and Charybdis but it is also a clarion call to the need in these present dark times to carefully steer our way between the rocks and the hard places which threaten to engulf us.
Hackett believes that “it seems the world has been plunged into darkness. Wherever you look, extremism and intolerance are dominant, and people are getting fed up with politicians. They are losing faith in the way they behave.” We live in a time of discord, animosity, fighting and bitter divisions. ‘The Night Siren’ is a wake-up call, an unsettling shaking of the foundations on which we stand designed to open our minds, rouse us from our complacency and heed the urgent call to empathy, unity and peace.
To that end, much like the Sirens themselves, the album is a hybrid mosaic of songs featuring instruments, collaborators and musicians from around the world. Indeed, the graceful, elegant beauty of T’he Night Siren’ lies precisely in the delightful diversity of its songs as well as the endearing variety of the instruments and sounds heard within each song. The sound of the Indian sitar, the strings of a Peruvian charango, Celtic Uilleann pipes along with the tar and oud originating from the Middle East all contribute to the wonderful montage of musical voices which inspire hope and the desire for peace.
The album openly elevates, celebrates and embraces our unity within diversity. Unlike other recordings on which he has worked, ‘The Night Siren’ took Hackett well over a year to make. Recording took place in multiple locations, in a variety of different countries, using studios, rooms, wherever they could get the musicians together. “What I wanted to do was show that we can all communicate through the universality of one language – and that is music. It brings us all together.”
Making the album in this way not only adds greater flexibility to the music but also brings people together – and sometimes people who are unnatural allies – to demonstrate in a simple fashion that the multi-cultural approach offers us light in the darkness. Hackett is adamant that the album “represents a bird’s eye view of the world of a musical migrant ignoring borders and celebrating our common ancestry with a unity of spirit”. Bringing together singers and musicians from Israel and Palestine, the USA and Iraq he firmly believes the spirit of cooperation, collegiality and the bonds of friendship which can be formed through music make this his best album yet.
It is hard to disagree. If the Sirens of war, division, destruction, envy, spite and brutality are seducing the world in which we live, Hackett’s performance on ‘The Night Siren’ is no less akin to the enthralling musicianship of Orpheus leading us through these troubled waters. Music, he believes, “breaches all defences” and there is no doubting that his playing exudes an assured, masterful confidence and authority which is as infectious as it is inspiring.
There is an exhilarating sense of anticipation in hearing the way his guitar work interacts with and responds to the unique and dynamic combinations evolving within each song. Even with all the different styles, rhythms and tempos, he displays a blistering, stand-out musicianship which is wholly organic to, and of a natural piece with, the flow and momentum of the music. It feels right. Each and every time, it feels so right, so perfectly suited to the context of the other instruments and immaculately aligned with the way the song unfolds.
This has always been Hackett’s singular gift; a magical combination of exceptional talent and a nuanced insight which allows him to draw on the momentum present in the natural flow of the music and then rise above it with a passion and brilliance that often defies imagination. At times his playing is simply sublime. The space opens up for the guitar to speak and he fills it with riffs and solos that are beautifully refined, deftly played and charmingly sumptuous. He brings an understanding to the music which is movingly perceptive, poignant and evocative.
When you listen to music which is this articulate, played in ways which carry an unrivalled eloquence and charm by virtue not just of the central figure but also because of the virtuosity of those who surround him, the message he wants to convey cannot but be heard – and heard with a persuasiveness that only music can achieve. Forget about the boundaries, the walls, the frontiers, the borders. ‘The Night Siren’ will shake the ground on which you stand and make you feel the world anew through music because of the coming together of people from across the world who show the way to us all exactly what humanity can achieve when we come together in the name of unity and peace.
Resonant Frequency – Musical instruments make great use of resonance frequencies. The strings of stringed instruments, for instance, vibrate at their resonance frequencies when plucked or struck, and their vibrations against the surrounding air produce sound. For horns and similar instruments, the resonant frequency is actually in the column of air contained in the instrument.
I think we are all tuned into different resonant frequencies when it comes to music and maybe that’s why we like and prefer different types of music.
I’ve been through some ups and downs over the last year and I’ve always turned to certain artists for music that can lift my spirits and that cloud of negativity that may be laying over me. Many a time I’ve found myself walking home after a night with friends (and some alcohol it must be said) when a track has come on and completely changed my mood and taken me to a better place, quite euphoric at times.
It always seems to be the emotive and moving music that brings out this reaction in me, artists like Big Big Train and Abel Ganz have always resonated (see what I did there?) with me in a big way. More recently Scottish indie-folk artists along the likes of Blue Rose Code, Findlay Napier and Norrie McCulloch (review coming soon) have stepped up to the mark and delivered the music that is becoming the soundtrack of my life.
However there has been one new release that I just can’t stop listening to and really has become a must listen album of choice for the good, as well as the bad, times and that’s ‘Open Skies Exploding’ by Brett William Kull.
Brett (William) Kull is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer, and engineer from the United States. He is best known for being a founding member of the band Echolyn, and long standing member of Grey Eye Glances. Brett is also an adjunct college instructor sharing his love for audio engineering and sound design.
Starting on December 24th 2016, and where timings allowed, Brett started to release two songs a week from his new solo album ‘Open Skies Exploding’. Being a one-man music producing machine he produced, arranged, played, sung, recorded, mixed and mastered the whole album, except where noted on each track.
My review will go through the tracks in the order and number they were released.
The first two tracks on the album to be released were My House Is Loud and Three Walls on 24th December 2016.
As Brett explains in his accompaniment to the release, “My House is Loud, includes the talents of my good friend and musical compatriot Chris Buzby. He played my Bostonian Ivers & Pond antique piano as well as my Fender Rhodes Seventy Three (not at the same time). On Drums is Jim Hines. I serendipitously met Jim during some studio session work and immediately knew I wanted to work with him on my own music.”
My House Is Loud is a bitter-sweet song, from the first note of the intro to the catchy guitar hook it is an uplifting and yet melancholy musical journey that just makes you feel like you are in the right place at the right time. Brett has one of those voices that is as smooth as velvet and has no rough edges at all. I find myself singing along and humming that addictive hook all the time. There’s a nostalgic feel to it, looking back at wonderfully happy times and how they have come full circle into the present and those memories are all that remain.
“My house is screaming in answers
My house is screaming in answers
The house is drowning in answers
The house is drowning without you
Just when I needed you most you said goodbye…”
That poignant look at the past is also central to the elegant Three Walls with its dreamlike intro and delicately strummed guitar that gives a sepia tinged look at the past through the wall-scribbled memories of a stranger from the past. The song ebbs and flows in your mind, the music like a gossamer shroud over which Brett’s thoughtful vocal is delivered.
“There’s a map that I stare at with my morning tea
The pushpins tell dusty stories
Marking great spaces between land and sea
But now only the distance between us…”
31st December 2016 saw the release of Dublin Rooftops and Hard Dying Time.
Brett’s notes state, “Dublin Rooftops came about like many of my songs – in the moments between putting the kettle on and hearing the kettle whistle. I turn my phone recorder on and “get lost” in these moments. Like all my “phone recordings” it ended up in a playlist of ideas waiting for attention. Eventually I booked a session with Jim Hines to play drums, not sure what I was going to do. I brought over three ideas to this session; this was one of them.”
Fragmented memories are at the core of Dublin Rooftops, a harder edges and more powerfully emotive track with Brett’s dynamic vocal central to the story. There’s a staccato feel to the drums and acoustic guitar, like an almost agonised cry for the memories that are lost and the plaintive vocal section that follows the chorus really makes you feel for the protagonist. The drums and bass really drive the track on and the guitar adds the required angst. Railing against a broken promise perhaps, it’s the most heartfelt and acerbic track on the album.
“Somewhere there’s a slide show
It wouldn’t play now, the device deceased, device deceased
But in a corner in my mind it plays all the time
Though only in fragmented bursting scenes
There’s a part where the rain came through the radio…”
“Hard Dying Timewas initially recorded in the fall of 2012 during a free form recording session. I invited some friends over to Catapult Sound to see what would happen. When you listen to this song (from the moment the drums come in) you are hearing how the song was played in an inceptive moment by Paul Ramsey on drums, me on electric guitar, Ray Weston on bass, and Jeremy Beck on piano. After the performance I immediately had Jacque Varsalona play acoustic guitar, I wrote the words and melodies, found the voice of the song, added the beginning section, and asked my friend Francis Dunnery to add a solo guitar… all the while not infringing on the initial feel of the song.”
With laid back and ambling intro, Hard Dying Time seems to have all the time in the world. The gentle perambulations of the musicians matched by Brett’s cultured and unhurried vocal. You sit back and relax and let the music wash over you. There’s an expansive feel to this song, in my mind I see the vastness of sun-baked prairies and a horizon that seems to be a million miles away. A song for untold millennia, for lives that seem to go on eternally, unreal and almost alien. Francis Dunnery’s solo seems to come from the very bowels of the earth yet it is as measured and nonchalant as the rest of this unruffled song.
“We’d light the rails and change the chase
We burned the house to roman glass
And shake the walls to wake the wolf
Ruminate remove the past
Into piles of hard dying time…”
Railroad Self and Punch of The Day first saw the light of day on 7th January 2017.
“Railroad Self was a lingering chord progression, left over from my Last of the Curlews project. Recently I felt the need to throw it back into the coliseum of combat to finish it off. One way to enable spontaneity is to simply force yourself into a position where you need to react without planning. My friend Kevin Wiggins and I occasionally do this with great success in the realm of writing songs. We find meaning in this through our intent. Whenever we hang out, music appears where music was not. Kevin played drums to my acoustic guitar; the song happened. ‘Nuff said.”
A really jazzy song with an upbeat vibe Railroad Self could be allegorical with all sorts of hidden meanings in the lyrics. Is it exhorting you to be yourself and not pander to other people’s thoughts of who you should be? It’s a great little song with Brett’s smooth vocals and the funky drums and dancing guitar, it may be introspective in meaning but it is certainly very extrovert in delivery and it’s one of my favourites on the album.
“See how she goes away
See how she’s gone away
She’s a lonely sound and gone gone gone…”
“Punch of The Daywas written into existence with the help of Jeremy Beck then Francis Dunnery, (aka Big Des). The construction of this song is a bit longer than some of the other songs… but sometimes you have to work for it, or at least inject that which is not normally used. Thinking about it, the lethal combination of Beck and Big Des has contributed to some of my personal favorites on this new album.”
One of the tracks I go back to most frequently and one that is full of emotion, Punch of The Day is a wonderfully affectionate and heartwarming song with one of the most memorable guitar hooks in it. A song of memorial it would seem, a heartfelt eulogy to a loved one perhaps, Brett gives another striking vocal performance of elegance and warmth and the music just adds layers and layers of pathos and sentiment to deliver a track that makes my heart bleed and the fragile beauty within, the solo is just a thing of wonder.
“Ride blind in your town tonight
To lean against some tide
Removing pieces of our love and longing
It feels so good and keeps you moving
Beyond the punch of the day…”
Song For Summer and Like Fading Stars – released 29th January 2017.
“Song for Summer features Big Des once again on drums. Des crystallized the song for me by playing the big tom-tom groove. It immediately gave the song the rhythmic energy I was hoping for. It is perfect! Leo Koperdraat from Fractal Mirror was kind enough to add his wonderful baritone voice for some backing vocal color.”
Song For Summer has a real singer/songwriter vibe to it, akin to Don Henley post Eagles. A song from the American heartlands about somebody escaping from a relationship but are they really escaping and are they really free? That’s what it seems to speak of to me. A repetitive rhythm from the drums is the core of the track. Brett gives a sultry vocal performance and the guitars occasionally break in to dominate proceedings for a while as the rest of the song treads water momentarily. An echoing beat holds sway as the story unfolds before you, it’s a story that will end but will it end well? Does it ever…?
“She wants to buy a world of wonder
She wants to write a song for summer
She gets to me cause I know that summer too
She gets to me cause I know that summer
I never wanted to be lovers that would call it an end…”
“Like Fading Stars, features Jim Hines playing a beautifully understated groove for my song. I used my very old piano with a damper on the strings to lull the listener into the quietness of the song opening. These songs are deep and full of emotional triggers for me and I hope you can find your own meaning within them. I know I cried many times as these lines materialized into melodies. Maybe you’ll get something out of them as well.”
An almost carnival-like piano note opens Like Fading Stars, a quiet echo almost unheard in the background. Brett has a stillness and tranquility to his voice, there’s a fragile grace to every note of this dignified and graceful track. Innocence exudes from all corners, a love story that takes place up in the heavens, in the stars. I take my own personal meaning from this song, to me it is inspirational and thought-provoking and reminds me of my own journey of self-discovery.
“Me here, and you there, same fading stars
Somewhere, we were somewhere
Like same fading stars
Oh, you were somewhere like fading stars
Somehow, we were shining
Like fading stars…”
The last track, Light of Things, was released on 5th February 2017.
“The last track for this series – by unplanned motivation – is called Light of Things. It’s a good one folks. I hope you agree. The 1-2 punch of Jeremy Beck and Big Des elevated the recording you hear. Jeremy plays the perfect piano accompaniment. He added a truly unique color to this song with his piano work, as well as some powerful backing vocals that are transparent and sublime. There is nothing overwrought in this recording. It is simple and fitting for my words and melody. I hope you find something in them; I know I have.”
A cultured and sophisticated song that just oozes warmth and bonhomie Light of Things wears its heart on its sleeve. A simple but evocative vocal and piano open the track before the drums join in and take it to another level. Brett’s voice takes the bittersweet, wistful lyrics and just lifts them to another level, things lost that will never be forgotten, looking back but not in any negative way. You get lost in this seeming personal journey as this remarkable musician opens his heart and soul to the gathered crowd. This elegantly subdued song leaves a mark on you that will never fade such is its impact.
“Now close as continents are away
The devil called at the end of your stay
As our burning time crashed to the sea
We were love that died in the air
From an arrow of secrets that you shared
Then the distance came in…”
A charming, captivating musical journey that will lead everybody on a different path ‘Open Skies Exploding’ is songwriting at its best. Uncomplicated and effortless, Brett Kull has that innate skill that the best musicians possess, the ability to make the listener forget themselves and be completely immersed in the spellbinding music that he creates. The man is a bloody genius, there’s no other word for it!
Released 24th December 2016 through 5th February 2017.
You know when you listen to an album and then look the band up and realise you have missed out a fair few albums and some cracking music? Well that’s how I feel about IT and the album ‘W.A.I.T.T.’ (We’re All In This Together) after just a couple of plays. It is definitely an album of, and for, its time. 2017 is a time of flux politically with some scary things happening to everyday people everyday right now. This album is one that reflects that narrative very well.
Nick Jackson (mastermind No 1), Andy Rowberry (mastermind No 2), James Hawkins (Bass), Will Chism (Drums), and Ryan McCaffrey (keyboards/saxophone) form the band, each seem to have their hands in many pies but they still feel like a unit on this album. Check the website out for whom and what they are, it’s fascinating to see the influences they cite, no spoilers from me I promise.
Thematically the album is roughly the equivalent of “I am Daniel Blake”, the narrative of an austerity ridden country on the wrong end of one too many cuts and the impact these make on the key characters. In 10 songs we are taken on a journey cutting from the political voice to the personal voices of the characters. Opening with Power, a menacing bass line drags in a driving guitar riff with an urgent riff building tension relieved only briefly by spoken voiceovers, talking of the selfish power mad political masters.
Now, before I go any further I want to stop and reflect that the subject matter is dark and filled with insurrection and revolution. Although political in context this in no way makes this preaching or ranting in the way it delivers. Think of Pink Floyd’s‘Animals’ or Steven Wilson with ‘Hand Cannot Erase’ as topical and full of insight but still damned fine albums rather than the protest songs that will be filling your minds from my first few paragraphs. Much has been said by Prog Fans about politics and music and how they should never mix. Although I fundamentally disagree with that, I accept that some think this and I do not want to prevent anyone from even trying to hear what I see as an excellent album.
Moving swiftly on, the music flows from one song to another and has been considered and crafted to have the feel of a single suite rather than 10 songs glued together in the name of a “concept”. The Working Man is catchy and has a rather gloomy, if eminently ‘singalong’, chorus line. “Living on a landfill of plastic and bone” is an ear worm if ever there was one, if a tad strange to anyone not tuned into to your headphones. This is melancholy in the mould of Porcupine Tree or Steve Thorne, at its best poppy & accessible but also with hidden depths.
Gamble The Dreamis a real rock out with a hard guitar riff driving the song, reflecting the pressure on the economy and the drive to achieve. In the gloomy Voices we find ourselves in the head of the protagonist of the album. A George Galloway speech slots in here assaulting Blair and Bush directly on the impact of the Iraq War and the aftermath. The most challenging song on the album but it is anthemic in its delivery.
The epic in length and content The Path Of Least Resistance, at just under 12 minutes, showcases the song writing and musicianship. The key and time signature changes with a wailing guitar solo are wholly worthy of a Guthrie or a Gilmour.
The album ends with Revolution, a thundering bass line with a malevolent tone and a Theremin (?) wailing in the background. The ultimate end to all corrupt systems or a desire change things in extreme circumstances? Again another riff and hook line here that you may well find yourself singing along to on the commute home.
This album has something for everyone – strong riffology, melody, song writing at its core and a tongue in it’s cheek throughout. If art is a reflection of society then this album is art. Fans of Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree or Steven Wilson will find something in this to delight in. This is the face of modern Prog shown in a bright light. It blows the cobwebs away stimulates the brain and challenges us to think.
As ever this is not a song by song review nor is it highlights but a whistle stop tease and my opinion of the Album.
The Mute Gods: ‘Tardigrades will inherit the Earth’
I had to do some googling to find out what a Tardigrade was, upon first reveal of the albums title I thought Tardigrades were what I achieved in my A levels all those dim and distant years ago, and it was ‘great my time has come’.
Upon reverting to the nearly always accurate Wikipedia it turns out a Tardigrade is not a D in media Studies but an odd looking water dwelling eight legged micro animal, sometimes known as water bears or moss piglets, it appears that these animals can survive in extreme conditions that would kill everything else, hence the title, which suggests that long after we’ve gone and done our damage to the worlds ecosystem, these little guys (no more than 0.5mm in length) will still be here.
Dark stuff indeed from the Mute Gods on their second album.
Following on from 2014’s ‘Do Nothing til you hear From Me’, Nick Beggs, Roger King and Marco Minneman have gone into even darker territory than on their debut.
Here Beggs and co are full of anger and despair at the current global situation, and this is reflected in some heavy musical passages, angry and impassioned vocals from Beggs and a musical sound that veers from outright darkness to shades of lighter music, where the mix of almost progressive metal turns on it’s head to a more melodic sound.
Having worked together as part of the Steve Hackett band, Beggs and King found a musical rapport that comes to fruition in the Mute Gods, and adding Minneman, who Beggs worked with in the Steven Wilson band, you find a musical collective who are so in tune with each other that it drives the music on.
Instead of utilising guest musicians, this record is firmly focused on the diverse and multi faceted approach that the three members bring to the table, a contemporary progressive power trio if you will. However there is none of the pomp and circumstance that you’d get from an ELP, or the look at me battle for supremacy that destroyed Cream.
Instead this is all about the music, and more importantly all about the songs on here. Tackling both his trademark Chapman stick and guitars on this album, as well as the vocals, Beggs is firmly at the forefront on this record, stepping away from the sideman role he does so well into the role of frontman, which he carries off with style and real musical presence throughout this record, the sublime sound of his guitar and bass on tracks like The Dumbing of the Stupid is one of the defining sounds of this record.
Roger Kings keyboard, guitar work and production make this a sonically adventurous release, with some real beautiful musical peaks, this is not a record for the faint hearted by any stretch, if however you want your horizons broadening and your music and lyrics full of inconvenient truths, then this is for you.
Drumming powerhouse Marco Minneman is the driving force on this record, his mighty drum sound thundering through like the hammer of Thor, as tracks like the first single We Can’t Carry On demonstrate.
The heaviness is reined in on tracks like the Early Warning, which has a melodic feel to it, not dissimilar to Lifesigns debut (which Beggs was an integral part of).
The title track has an 80’s vibe to it, with a fantastic guitar line some classic synth sounds and great vocals by Beggs, this is probably the closest to a single on the album, and one which mixes Beggs pop and prog sensibilities to create a superb song. Highlight for me on the album has to be the wonderful The Singing Fish Batticaloa with its superb vocals, and the way it grows into a moving anthemic modern prog song, is sheer ecstasy for the ears.
This album pulls no punch when it comes to painting a picture of the state of the world currently, and there are some people out there (mainly on Facebook & twitter) who think that artists shouldn’t comment on what’s happening in the world, I say why not? Some of the greatest art and music has come from a time of trouble and darkness in the world, and there’s no point our musical heroes going all ostrich on us and ignoring the current global climate of hatred and fear.
This makes this album an uneasy listen, but when it’s wrapped up in such intense and well crafted music and a superb production that allows the songs to shine, this is something you have to hear, whether you like the message or not.
There’s a storm brewing and it’s name is not Doris.
Welcome to the world of Telepathy who’s sound is self described as ‘furiously played progressive sludge, intricate soundscapes and a bucketload of riffs’. Their new album ‘Tempest’is as heavy as your Grandad’s pit boots and blacker than the coal face he worked on, this is serious intelligent metal and your Granny better not forget it.
Formed in 2011 this Colchester, ‘almost instrumental’ Quartet comprising of, Piotr Turek, Albert Turek, Richard Powley and Teddy-James Driscoll, are loud and furious balanced with lighter passages and awash with melody, setting them apart from many contemporaries. I’ll enlighten you on the ‘almost’ later.
There is a huge variety of riffs bursting from every track of this, their sophomore concept album which is based around the harrowing journey of a person tormented with grief and facing total isolation on awaking after a great flood.
The album leads you on a journey from the awakening on First Lighta delicate short piece with the peaceful sound of water lapping on the shore then the waves of emotion hitting you with force.
You rise dazed from the pounding and survey the devastation around you and see Smoke From Distant Fires, as the grimy tendrils rise in thick clouds of guitars, pushed skywards by the heavy beat of drums. You are teased by moments of light as the cacophony fades momentarily and you try to recover your thoughts and bearings, mind swirling with cloying dark thoughts like the smoke blotting out the sky.
With the realisation of what has occurred, you stumble forward, faced with Mother Nature’s Celebration Of Decayeverywhere you turn, tortured walls of sound painting a grim picture as you tread a path through the desolate landscape.
The ebb and flow of the waves recedes as you clamber over broken buildings and is blotted out by the Echo Of Souls from the shattered bodies strewn like beached fish after the waters returned to Neptune on bitter sweet echoing notes. It is here where the tortured background vocals put paid to the instrumental sway.
Screams of the injured instruments and damaged limbs like an Apparitionfrom Hell as people whimper for help, trapped beneath the rubble. People stagger toward you blood soaked and mauled from the brutal phenomena. Closing in around you their cries for aid building and you push your way through in no state to help them as you are as much a victim.
This does not make sense, how did this come to be? The grief rises in you in terrible waves and Hiareth overcomes you, as you remember your family and the dawning realisation they may too have been caught in this. Are they still alive, are they injured, is anyone helping them? Your head spins with the music of suffering and panic raises nausea in you and you drop to the ground, retching in the muddy pools.
The recent memories flood in, The Water Divides The Tides, as pieces fall into place. Wiping your mouth with the back of your hand you push yourself to your feet the oppressive weight of guilt strapped to your back and you make for the road and head homeward, to find what you will find.
What caused this? Is it punishment for our sins, could we have done more? Have I been the best Father and Husband I could be? Retribution has been brought down upon us like a huge hammer, crushing everything underneath it. What can we do, just accept the aftermath and try to make amends? Is this what is expected of us, a Metanoia, repentance, to change our hearts?
The heavy price paid, must be earned back and not gambled on as a game of reckless roulette. All must atone or all will suffer and perish.
This is an album of structured complexity, a catharsis of experimentation and one you need to immerse yourself in, pulling yourself back to the surface to breathe then dive back in to listen again so you can fully appreciate the unbridled sonic tapestry.
Not music to be taken lightly and only to be approached if you can swim with the tide and stay afloat. Not for the faint of heart but numerous listens will reward on an album of superior metal.
If this is your type of music you won’t need telepathic persuasion to buy, it’s a must.
Djam Karet (pronounced ‘jam care-RAY) is an Indonesian word that translates loosely as “elastic time”.
Djam Karet was founded in 1984 by guitarists Gayle Ellett and Mike Henderson, bassist Henry J. Osborne, and drummer Chuck Oken, Jr., and continue making new music even to this day, 33 years later! So far … they have released 18 full-length albums, including the newest release ‘Sonic Celluloid’ (as well as an additional 24 minor releases and EPs and compilations, see the discography).
Compared by the press with King Crimson, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Ozric Tentacles and Porcupine Tree, they are credited with breathing new life into progressive rock, leading the way to the genre’s future growth. The California-based instrumental group has often been called America’s greatest undiscovered band.
To my ears this most inventive of bands has always been a psychedelic instrumental sounding board and their musical ideas have always expanded and evolved to give the listener a real Smörgåsbord of acoustic delights. When Gayle asked me if I would be interested in reviewing ‘Sonic Celluloid’ it was a definite no-brainer!
Sonic Celluloid includes all four founding members of Djam Karet: Chuck Okenjr, Henry Osborne, Mike Henderson, and Gayle Ellett, as well as Aaron Kenyon and Mike Murray. All six play (to varying degrees) on the new album. Everyone contributed as much or as little as they wanted to, with the huge bulk of the work being done mostly by Ellett and Oken.
This new release is as cinematic as they come, little musical-movies running in your mind as you listen to the tracks, opener Saul Says So has a really electronic, 70’s sci-fi feel running throughout. Quite dark and moody in style at the start, it has you on the edge of your seat before it opens up into something akin to a psychedelic revelation, only one that is experienced in a supremely leisurely fashion. It seems to float across your synapses, leaving a gentle memory everywhere where the intricate guitar playing touches your mind. Forced Perspective takes that soundscape and leads it on a convoluted, meandering journey with a Southern California vibe, edgy drums, funky bass and super smooth electronica transport you to vast landscapes of sound in your mind. There’s more of that psychedelia that I come to expect from this exceedingly expressive band, I just close my eyes and let the music wash over me. It brings to mind independent art movie soundtracks, cerebral music for the connoisseur.
The muted classical music inspired intro to Long Shot makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Subdued minimalistic synths bring to mind Jean-Michel Jarre and even a touch of early Kraftwerk to the 70’s nostalgia reunion that is going on in my mind. I begin to think of films like ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ as the track evolves into a kind of Prog inspired sci-fi melodrama. It really is an intricate sepia-tinged cinematic delight. No Narration Needed starts with a full-on free form jazz trumpet before the music takes on a more suspenseful tone layered with atmospheric keyboards and electronica. There’s a timeless aura to this track, like a primordial beast that has lived across epochs and never notices the short lived lives of the pitiful humans who inhabit its planet. A medieval sounding guitar and flute then punctuate the stillness to add a layer of calm and collection. This is a track that engenders meditation and reflection and has dignity and character at its core. There are some great titles to the tracks on this release, Numerous Mechanical Circles being one of them and it is a musical composition that seems to grow around you, the flute sounds and electronic synthesisers forming a symbiosis with an almost alien quality to it. It moves across your mind in a slow but sure manner, all the time in the world to achieve its purpose. I can sense a slight apprehension in the occasionally caustic keyboards and the hesitant voice you hear in the background has a spooky, mystical ambience to it, it is disturbing but in a very enjoyable way.
The sounds of waves and seabirds opens Oceanside Exterior, a rhythmic and meditative piece of music that flows through space and time and engenders images in your mind of powerful oceans braking on immovable rocks, time and space standing still against the majesty of nature. This is music as an elemental force but one that has no need to be brash and in your face. The incredibly laid back guitar playing is utterly addictive and is best experienced through a pair of high-end headphones with a great quality glass of wine in your hand. 70’s synths come back strongly on Au Revoir Au Reve, a strong sentimental note can be felt all over this wistful track. Dreamy and fanciful with a Gallic undertone, you could be walking the streets of 1950’s Paris, a suavely dressed detective in the seedy underbelly of this great city. The plaintive guitar is full of angst, perhaps railing against an unsolved crime, who knows but you feel the pain. A masterful piece of music that, once again, has your furtive mind working overtime.
Pink Floyd guitar notes are very evident at the opening of Flashback, a more hard-edged track that has an incredible depth to it, like it has survived eons in the primordial soup of creation. It seems to be treading water, awaiting what, we don’t know. There is a timeless grandeur and stature to every note, especially when the powerfully cultured guitar breaks out. The synths are the stage on which Gayle’s fiery, blues infused guitar takes centre stage. Lower has a post-rock gravity to it, the elegant keyboards glide around you as the mournful guitar tells its seemingly grief stricken tale. A soulfully forlorn piece of music that propagates a sombreness deep in your heart and soul and moves you inside. Another excellently titled track closes out the album, The Denouement Device is music that stimulates a sonic journey for your body and soul, music that will have differing effects on different people. Intense and thought provoking, a wide-ranging and all-encompassing sound that fills your entire being with a feeling of wonderment and lets you see things with a childlike innocence. Genuine, contemplative and thoughtful yet it treats you with kid gloves as it strips you of any pre-conceived ideas and back to your bare soul.
‘Sonic Celluloid’ is yet another triumph for this ever inventive band. An intricate instrumental tour-de-force that takes the listener on a cinematic journey through ever-evolving soundscapes engendered in their own mind. Djam Karet are the masters of cerebral, intelligent music for the erudite listener and have delivered a superlative musical odyssey once again.
“Originally devised in 1973 by eccentric producer Tomska R Huntley and destined for German TV, Tope’s Sphere was set to be a ground-breaking animation featuring a live soundtrack by 1970’s UK/Germany supergroup, Klementine Uhren. The series followed Tope, the knitted monkey protagonist, with his sidekick Chode on their outer-space adventures accompanied by lush layers of psychedelic music. Unfortunately for Tomska, Klementine Uhren were unhappy with the final mixes. They promptly disappeared with all the tapes for an ‘extended session’, never to be seen again. Tomska was bankrupted and his dreams shattered; he dumped what was left from Tope’s Sphere into a skip and vanished into the depths of the Himalayan Mountains “.
So reads the Bad Elephant Music promotional material. I think of myself as a Kraut rock fan but I will be the first to admit it missed me completely. That maybe me being a 9 year old in 1970 at the time and I am sticking to that rather than plead complete ignorance of something I feel I should know. It creates a mythology of nostalgia and finds me want to know more of this television series.
It is a story Of Tope, a knitted monkey and Chode his sidekick, a reimagining of the TV series in musical form. Musically it is uplifting and delightful, I hear so many different influences here but imagine Gong’s‘Flying Teapot’ saga translated into a children’s series sound track. I won’t single out individual tracks here but the fun the guys had in the studio creating this is glaringly obvious and I’d love to hear the outtakes.
Orange Clocks hail from “East Northamptonshire”
Burn – drums, percussion, Derek Cotter – vocals, bass guitar, Tom Hunt – vocals, synthesisers, Ja Lee – samples and sounds, Dan Merrils – guitar, Stuart Paterson – guitar, Martin Winsley – narration, vocals, percussion.
They have produced something quite unique which holds a reverence for the past but has an amusing irreverence in the way they have made the music with more ‘in-jokes’ from the genre than a Brian (may he rest in peace) Pern series.
It opens with an audio lift from the original series telling one adventure against an arch-enemy of Tope and the battles worthy of any Steampunk adventure. You follow the tale from end to end with a solid narrative and characters. Good versus evil, the music and vocals representing the characters well. I hear Hawkwind, Gong, Grobschitt, Public Image Limited and Ashra Tempel all in the mix. Musically it is not hard work yet it is incredibly accessible and has its own unique identity.
This is, in true Prog tradition, a concept album but it is also a rollicking space romp of hilarious proportions in anyone’s book. Yes, you read that, hilarious proportions. I am a melancholy soul at best and my taste in music reflects that but I do like to smile and this album makes me grin from beginning to end. In classical music there are a couple of albums that act as doorways to the music, Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and Benjamin Brittan’s‘A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’, there is even a similar album for King Crimson that I seem to remember. This album, for me, is a great way to introduce the “young mind” to what good modern Psychedelic/Prog should be like without melting the brain. When I say ‘young’ I mean those with no knowledge or background rather than your average Bieber obsessed pre-teen.
This album is yet again proof the music industry should take risks and invest beyond the core “karaoake” style ‘zero outlay, high short term yield’ mainstream we have at the moment. I will not be forgetting this album come December when I look back and review 2017.
The premise for Nerissa Schwarz’s (of Frequency Drift) debut solo album, ‘Playgrounds Lost’, immediately intrigues for two reasons. First, it is an instrumental concept album about innocence lost—perhaps through very sinister means, judging from the album cover and song titles. Second, the songs are performed entirely on mellotron and electric harp. Put the two together and you’ve got something that veers so far to the left of ‘prog’ that it comes back full circle as very progressive indeed.
The album opener, Play, begins with chiming, plucked strings later overlaid with ambling mellotron washes. Soon, a menacing bass note takes over as the chiming, plucked ‘harp riff’ continues. Immediately, the album is off to a very expressive and cinematic start; honestly, it’s quite surprising that this is not the soundtrack to some foreign language film consisting entirely of wordless vignettes. Imagine a secluded playground in a moderately forested area: it’s mid-autumn, some leaves are turning, some green remains, the warm sun and chill breeze play together nicely. We see a lone child on the swing, pumping and pulling at a relaxed pace, eyes fixed straight ahead. The action doesn’t change much from scene to scene; instead, the camera moves around the location—sometimes out of focus—lighting changes, slowly moving toward dusk; we get the sense that something is not right here.
Most of the songs move between pretty, bright uses of the electric harp and mellotron—more like the ‘hippie’ and folky-psychedelic sounds you probably associate with the instrument—and downright frightening brown notes that creep, circle, but never quite obscure the harp. Indeed, Schwarz has come up with some truly inventive uses for an instrument that often occupies a place of nostalgic filigree in many compositions. Here, the sounds range from meadowy to proggy to atmospheric to reminiscent of Taurus bass pedals.
Fireflying is perhaps the most thoroughly pleasant and reassuring track, but the songs tend to vacillate between golden hour, dusk, and menacing cloud cover. The album cover provides an excellent interpretive framework for listening, and I cannot separate images of a lone child in a secluded playground area from the musical experience. Thematically, ‘Playgrounds Lost’ is ambiguous but clearly dark. We may be listening to a metaphor for growing up, or possibly an experience far worse, but the closing trio of Something Behind Trees, No More Games, and Playgrounds Lost make it clear that we are dealing with something very serious and terribly unsettling.
And that is the great accomplishment of ‘Playgrounds Lost’: it takes the concept of a concept album, strips it down to bare instrumentation—strips even the instrumentation down to two—and pulls it off with clarity, virtuosity, and precision. It’s a niche album, to be sure. This is a film score without a moving picture. It’s too brooding and menacing for background music. Don’t try it as accompaniment for a workout or a long drive. However, need a bit of meditation, introspection, calibration for a pair of headphones? Love electric harp and/or mellotron and want to hear how far one can go in arranging for those instruments? Nerissa Schwarz has an album for you. And, given the expressiveness of these compositions, here’s hoping she gets the ear of some filmmakers looking for an original score.
