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August 2019 = |
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Henry Parker |
the
Quiet Temple |
Jowe Head |
Paul Roland |
Nathan
Hall |
United Bible Studies |
Sa Bruxa |
Ron
Geesin |
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Home |
HENRY
PARKER – SILENT SPRING
(LP
from www.henryparkermusic.co.uk
)
This
is an absolutely lovely self-released album of
primarily acoustic guitar music of the kind
which only comes along very, very occasionally –
and when it does it’s to be treasured. The
gorgeous sleeve illustrations by Holly Blackshaw
are a delight in themselves; the lettering
(Aretino Bold type I believe) reveals a depth of
care and attention to presentation which is all
too rare; and the music itself is just sublime,
the songs underpinned throughout by Parker’s
guitar work which ripples and flows like
snowmelt on a mountainside.
Favourites
include ‘Marbled Wren’, a solo guitar
instrumental inspired by a walk along the
Leeds-Liverpool canal (the wren in question
being the name of a narrowboat); the opening cut
‘New Mantras’ which features a gloriously
cascading torrent of notes from Parker
underpinned by Augustin Bousfield’s double bass,
rendering it a very Pentangle-esque feel; the
chilling title song ‘Silent Spring’ which is if
anything even more relevant today than Rachel
Carson’s book which inspired it was in 1962; and
‘Willie O Winsbury,’ one of only two traditional
numbers on the album, the other being an
interpretation of ‘Sylvie’, which Bert Jansch
sang in 1971 on ‘Rosemary Lane.’ It’s Jansch
indeed whose guitar-work and singing Henry
Parker most reminds me of. ‘Willie O Winsbury’
here is an instrumental, on which Henry swaps to
electric guitar. It left me longing for more of
the same.
The
nearest comparison I can come up with would be
Mick Wills’ two albums for Woronzow Records at
the tail end of the last century, ‘Fern Hill’
and ‘Magic Garden’ – if you enjoyed either of
those I can guarantee you’ll get a kick out of
this record.
(Phil McMullen)
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THE QUIET
TEMPLE – THE QUIET TEMPLE
(LP/CD/DL
on
Wichita
Recordings (North America), Point of Departure
Record Co (Europe/Rest of the World)
The
Quiet
Temple is the brainchild of the duo of Rich
Machin (Soulsavers) and multi-instrumentalist
Duke Garwood. They’re
augmented on record by players Rick Dickaty, Tim
Lewis (aka Thighpaulsandra), Pete Marsh, Paul
May, Doggen, all experienced travelers from the
realms of Soulsavers, Spiritualized, Stereolab,
and Julian Cope.
The Quiet Temple went into the studio
without prepared material, improvised and
developed the six tracks, then recorded the
final versions live in the studio, with scarcely
an overdub. The
album is mostly a brooding and bubbling cauldron
of tasty instrumental psychedelic jazz
jambalaya.
Opener
“The
Last Opium Den (On Earth)” sounds like ’71
Traffic colliding head-on with Pink Floyd on
“Careful With That Axe, Eugene,” complete with a
dead-on Rick Wright organ sound early in the
piece. But
unlike “Eugene,” there’s no screaming violent
climax, only the hypnotic, lysergic build-up,
ever simmering below the surface.
You can also find a 12-minute Moon Duo
remix of the song, in which Ripley Johnson
transforms the piece into a Moon Duo/Wooden
Shjips-like astro-cruiser.
Next
up,
“The Bible Black” finds us in a smoky jazz club
‘round midnight, with Fender Rhodes and soft
saxophone slinkily wafting through the haze.
The keyword here is sultry.
“Shades of Gemini” is another
slow-burning murky epic, which gradually builds
with some nice & nasty psychedelic guitar.
“X-Rated” hardly sounds X-rated to me,
and employs an insistent, pounding Krautrock
rhythm amid a swirl of demons.
“Noah’s Theme” is closer to trad jazz, a
mellow piece, as tuneful as it is mournful.
We go out with “Utopia & Visions,”
with more slow, noir late night neon glowing
grooves.
Trippy
and
hip, sultry, creeping and dark, The Quiet Temple
delivers with the heat turned up just shy of
boiling over.
(Mark
Feingold)
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JOWE
HEAD – WIDDERSHINS
Easy Action Vinyl/CD/DL
www.easyaction.co.uk
So this is a turn up for the books, former Television
Personalities/ Swell Maps member Jowe, releases
a sprawling, epic, double album of strange folk.
He is hardly the most prolific of artists; this
is his fifth solo album since ‘Pincer Movement’
from 1981, barring a couple of CD’s with The
Demi-Monde.
Delving into folklore big time the album starts with
his version of Lyke-Wake Dirge a fine opener
swiftly followed by ‘Tankerton Bay’ a song
written about the spit of land known as “The
Street”, situated on a ley-line in Whitstable
which appears at low tide. Things turn pretty
weird with Minotaur Song the song written by The
Incredible String Band’s Robin Williamson for
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter, this has a
children’s vocal chorus and much clattering and
banging. The ancient ballad ‘Nottamun Town’, is
rendered in Jowe’s inimitable style enlivened by
flute and sustained guitar notes. ‘Ode to
Krampus’, follows, a hymn to the hairy, horned
pagan demon that punishes naughty children.
‘Extraterrestrials’ examines the other worldly
origins of planet earth. ‘Extras’ is a song
about the frustration and humiliation of hanging
around on a film set as an extra. ‘Joseph
Cornell’ a song about the visionary 20th
sculptor, who fashions his art from thrift
stores and dime stores. ‘Tom O’Bedlam’, a song
adapted from a 17th century poem
about the Bethlehem Royal Hospital. ‘Gower
Song’, explores the ancient custom of
Wassailing. ‘Revenge of the Trees’, is a classic
song, taking its inspiration from nature having
its revenge upon mankind, influenced as it is by
the comics of his youth like Swamp Thing. ‘Baba
Yoga’, sung by Christina Brodie, is about an
evil witch from Russian folklore. ‘Half- Bike’,
influenced by Flann O’Brien’s epic story The
Third Policeman.
‘Ein Stuhl in der Holle’, translated from the German
lyric by Einsturzende Neubaten, adapted from one
of the Child ballads Lord Randall. ‘King Corn’
is loosely based on John Barleycorn and wouldn’t
be out of place on the Wicker Man album.
‘Long Live the Sun’, is a song written in
the depths of winter about the winter solstice.
‘Two Ravens’ is an adaptation of another Child
ballad, also known as “Twa Corbies”. ‘Bolweevil
Holler’, is a classic American song as sung by
some of the blues greats, it concerns a
parasitic insect which destroys cotton crops.
The album ends with ‘Shepherds Lament’, inspired
by Psalm 23 in the good book. The instruments on
the album are varied and include flutes,
trombones, farfisa’s, bowed psaltery, zithers,
electric guitars, bowed bass and bulbel-tarang
amongst others. Jowe has a deep sing-speak
voice, which he utilises to great effect,
throughout this eclectic album. It’s a real
grower of an album, packed full of interesting
songs.
(Andrew
Young)
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PAUL
ROLAND – 1313 MOCKINGBIRD
LANE
www.darkcompanionrecords.bandcamp.com
Vinyl/CD/DL
This is Paul’s 20th album and could well
be his strongest set of songs yet, beginning
with the drowsy narcotic lope of ‘Salonof the
Senses’, with its mentions of hashish and
Seraphim’s. ‘Next Life’, is a pretty
straightforward pop song, albeit one with Paul’s
skewed lyrical sense,it has nice organ touches,
swirling leslie and backwards guitars and a
calliope style, the song references Cocteau and
Goddard.
‘When Chet Baker Sings’ is a knowing song with
glockenspiel, a light cyclical drum pattern and
of course a muted trumpet. The guitars
aresublime, a very strong song all round and as
catchy as a case of syphilis. ‘Whatever Happened
to Baby Jane’, ups the tempo somewhat and is a
prettystraightforward rocker, complete with
electric guitar solo. Other
tracks of note are ‘Voodoo Man’ a stinging
psychedelic rocker with some blistering guitar
lines, typical wordplayfrom Paul covering all
the usual New Orleans tropes, gris gris and
gumbo. ‘Joe Strummer Said’ is a cool mid paced
pop rock song, with more, great lead
guitar.‘Another Ingmar Bergman Interlude’ a
clever song which takes the tempo back down, a
slow sultry song. The sixties inflected quirky
pop of ‘Little WhiteLies’.
‘She’s My Guru’, is a groovy song with female BV’s,
fluid violin and spy theme guitars. “All your
chakras are out of whack, and your aurais
charcoal black”. ‘Summer of Love’, is the single
and it really perfectly summarises this
legendary summer, a love supreme. The album ends
with ‘1313Mocking Bird Lane’, which is the
address for the fictional Munsters. It’s
a typical gothic delight, the kind of song Paul
does so well, invested as it is, with plenty of
organ action.
(Andrew
Young)
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NATHAN
HALL AND THE SINISTER
LOCALS – SCATTERSPARK
www.nathanhallandthesinisterlocals.bandcamp.com
CD/DL
This is the third solo album by the Soft Hearted
Scientists songwriter Nathan Hall, helped out by
Michael Bailey – bass, and Frank Naughton– drums
on Leprechaun Lattes. It follows on from 2018’s
Tunguska Tydfil. 24 tracks long there’s
something for everyone in these mainly acoustic
tales. Averitable, arsenal of instruments are
utilized, from analogue keyboards to live drums.
A lot of the songs are quite short but packed
with great inventiveness,and terrific lyrics,
there’s no fat on these bones.
We get songs about Leprechauns, Roman soldiers,
Samson, Pumpkin scarecrows, Laika the space dog,
Ghosts, Unicorn horses, X- boxes andCardiff Bay.
A psychedelic reverie, that’s full of tootling
mellotrons, backwards guitars, harpsichords etc,
etc. None of the songs outstays itswelcome,
breezy and succinct; this album deserves to be
heard for its unalloyed enjoyment, for its
wealth of ear worms, ideas, playfulness, and of
course someterrific playing.
(Andrew
Young)
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UNITED
BIBLE
STUDIES – CAVE HILL ASCENSION
(LP on Pariah
Child
Records)
A new record from United Bible Studies is always an
occasion
to celebrate. ‘Cave Hill Ascension’ features a
stripped down version of the
collective comprising David Colohan, Alison
O’Donnell and Dominic Cooper. There
are two lengthy pieces interspersed with two
shorter songs which between them
create an air of elemental spirituality and a
musical environment drenched in
mood and emotion.
‘Bless Us & Break Us With Mystery Upon Mystery’
is nearly
15 minutes long and whilst essentially very
minimal in its construction manages
to create a rich ethereal soundscape where
blissful waves of wordless vocals
intertwine in ghostly, devotional dances in the
air. Subtle pastoral, kosmische
and sometimes Eno-esque colours elegantly
accompany and further enrich the
vocal core of the piece and the occasional
lonely beat of a drum or plucking of
strings only add to its spacious, filmic and
lush beauty. It is achingly
gorgeous with an unhurried, contemplative feel
but loaded with mystery and fuel
for the imagination. ‘Cave Hill Ascension’ is
the accompanying lengthy piece
and follows a similar trajectory where waves of
wordless vocal sound fading in
and out of focus and minimal drones, swells,
beats, plucks and strums come
together in various combinations through the
musical journey. There is perhaps
a stronger ritualistic sense to the music in
part through more prominent
moments of incantation and also a more
pronounced minimal ‘post rock’ feel at
times where I was reminded of bands such as ‘In
The Country’ but United Bible Studies
have taken these elements to their own special
place where ancient and modern
worlds collide very gently and beautifully
indeed.
The shorter songs have a more pronounced song like
structure and
have a very strong and equally pleasing David
Sylvian-esque sound in both the
singing style and musical ambience. Repeating
melodic figures are at the heart
of the music in both ‘The Heart Lies, Over &
Over’ and ‘Hope You Know’
which again feature complex and hypnotic swirls
of vocal tracking and have an
elegant tranquillity yet also a faintly brooding
beauty within.
This record is a superb addition to the United Bible
Studies
canon and a wonderful journey into the cinema of
the mind and I heartily
recommend it to you.
(Francis
Comyn)
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SA
BRUXA
– FROM THE DEPTHS
(CD on Yoshiwara
Collective
Records)
Sa Bruxa is the one man project of Guiseppe Novella
of
Sardinia and now resident in Berlin. It’s a
single track recording of over 19
minutes which is primarily a journey through
dark, analogue synth themes but
not simply in a formulaic glacial, gothic or
industrial fashion as can often be
the case. Sa Bruxa’s themes are dark for sure
but there’s imagination at play
here which makes the 19 minute journey far more
interesting. There are field
recordings and samples which create interesting
atmospheres, tensions and
effects. There are also pleasing nods to gothic
horror soundtracks and the
Giallo soundtrack genre which comes through
clearly to these ears in the
brooding long synth notes and colours and
ghostly breathy voices that generate
tension and not a little menace. There are also
hints of the classic years of
German kosmische and in particular Phaedra
period Tangerine Dream in the
echoing percussive and vocal samples and
analogue soundscape created.
In creating his particular dark ambience, Sa Bruxa
mixes the
cavernous and the creative well and uses a range
of sound sources and
influences with intelligence and some style.
This is the first music I’ve heard
from Sa Bruxa but I’m certainly keen to hear
more of this type of thoughtful
ambient soundscape work in the future.
(Francis Comyn)
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RON
GEESIN – EXPOZOOM 1969
(LP/CD on Dark
Companion Records)
It’s hard to label Ron Geesin accurately and anyone
attempting
to do so would need to include the words
composer, musician, free form
experimenter, inventor, author, poet and
comedian somewhere in the description.
Ron is perhaps best known for his collaborations
with Roger Waters on the
‘Music From The Body’ soundtrack, Pink Floyd on
‘Atom Heart Mother’ and his
contribution to Bridget St John’s ‘Songs For The
Gentle Man’ as producer and
musician. My personal favourite achievement has
to be authoring a book on the
history of the adjustable spanner (‘tis true
folks) which is surely an
essential part of any home library. Ron’s own
musical output doesn’t perhaps
get the same recognition as his collaborative
work but I’m a huge fan of his
electronic and library music and his leftfield
compositions that straddle a
world of sound from Dixieland Jazz to avant folk
and blues and absurdist
experimentalism.
‘Expozoom 1969’ is a wonderful collection of 20 short
electronic pieces that work in their own right
as an album and which also helped
lay some of the foundations for later
compositions and projects. They form the
music from a commission for music and incidental
sounds to be run with looped
films in the British Pavilion at Expo70 in
Osaka, Japan. The music, unreleased
until now, has a distinctly futuristic
industrial feel as it was produced to
accompany films of engineering prowess and
invention covering everything from
planes to hovercrafts, robotics and the always
evocative subject of hydrostatic
extrusion. Tape editing, analogue synthesisers
and all manner of sound making
devices are at play creating a mesmerising
tapestry of tunes, tones and
textures that comprise harsh avant garde noise,
modern composition, experimental
melodies, creative sound treatments, drones and
washes in a fascinating and
immersive soundscape that must have sounded
incredible back in the day and
still sounds totally fresh and contemporary
today. For the
psychedelic/progressive rock and Kosmische fan
there is much to enjoy and
recognise as a precursor to the more edgy and
adventurous electronics drenched
records of the seventies and beyond and fans of
today’s electronic and ambient
music will equally find lots of touchstone
moments.
This record has been a complete treat to listen to
over and
over and I highly recommend it to anyone with an
interest in adventurous
electronic music and sound - whether you like
Stockhausen, Pierre Henry or ELP
there’s something here to treat your ears. I
would even venture to say this is
music for adjustable spanner enthusiasts (I’m
sure Brian Eno won’t mind me
beating him to that title).
(Francis
Comyn)
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