MARK FRY - NOT ON THE RADAR

(Available on Second Language)

Over half a century ago the 17-year old Fry enrolled in the Accademia in Florence, Italy to study painting following in the footsteps of his father Anthony, an award-winning painter and art teacher. While in Italy he recorded an album for RCA subsidiary IT Dischi of his gentle, slightly psychedelic folk songs Dreaming With Alice backed by Scottish musicians Middle Of The Road. Having abandoned art school (1970s Italy was a very turbulent time and the Accademia was closed more often than not), Fry returned to England to concentrate on music, but with no label support he focused on his painting career.

     Nearly 40 years later, Fry recorded his second album Shooting The Moon, followed by two more releases on Second Language. A 2023 EP recorded with Iain Ross during pandemic downtime preceded this sixth album, again released via Second Language, the label run by Glen Johnson of (Terrastock performers) Piano Magic, whose keyboardist Angèle David-Guillou also contributes. Fry continues his relaxed approach with opener ‘Only Love’, a gentle acoustic whisper perfect for navel-or cloudgazing. David-Guillou’s tender piano and Ross’s subtle guitar solo permeate ‘Big Red Sun’, perhaps an autobiographical discourse on fleeting time (like its protagonist, Fry also “ran away to Africa” before returning to painting).

     ‘Stormy Sunday’ is a delightful detour into a light-hearted pop romp and the contemplative ‘Where The Water Meets The Land’ was chosen as the title of the recent documentary that investigates his two loves while continuing his melancholic observations on the passage of time that permeate much of his lyrics. Fry’s love songs are sincere heartfelt offerings of companionship, not sappy greeting card sentiments and ‘Where Would I Be’ and ‘Jamais À L'Heure are particularly, well, sweet and lovely. The septuagenarian’s romantic streak has lost none of its spark!

     Fry doesn’t often return to his musical roots, but like, say, a Leonard Cohen, when he does it’s cause for celebration and Not On The Radar is a welcome addition to his sparse but brilliant catalogue and a worthy addition to every Terrascope reader’s record shelves. This is a perfect companion to a good red wine, a quietly crackling fire, and a gaze into a setting sun as time flitters by. The days may grow short and the remaining years, few, so remember the good times and enjoy what has brought us to this point in time. Look forward with anxious anticipation at what lies in store. Fry has captured time in a bottle, if I may borrow from Jim Croce, and invites us along for the ride. Hop in. There’s no one else I’d rather have at the wheel.

(Jeff Penczak)

DYLAN GOLDEN AYCOCK – NO NEW SUMMERS

(LP from Worried Songs )

Dylan Golden Aycock is one of those guitarists whose work I’ve been vaguely familiar with for a number of years now – mainly courtesy of his stellar contribution the Imaginational Anthem compilation series on the Tompkins Square label – without fully exploring his own back catalogue. My mistake! Based in Oklahoma, USA where he runs Scissortail Records, on No New Summers Dylan G. Aycock conjures up charged atmospheres of countrified ambient folk through wonderfully emotive musicianship. On this album he plays guitar, upright bass and pedal steel in often quite unorthodox ways to generate unique tones and textures, while layering them with found sounds and field recordings. The songs are bathed in the melancholic nostalgia of childhood summers and other youthful joys.  Every note, every vibration feels carefully intentional. Bowed bass underpins field recordings on the mournful ‘Buoyant’, with waves of nebulous tones reverberating like whale song. In contrast, the opening track, ‘No Spring Chicken’, struts across the yard with a rapid, sharply picked acoustic guitar work, eerily reminiscent of the late, great Jack Rose. The beautiful ‘Good Directions’ unfolds with a hazy, dreamlike quality, anchored by gentle acoustic and the ethereal tones of a pedal steel guitar. There’s more pedal steel on ‘Unanchored’, though processed to mimic the textures of a cello and oboe. The atmospheric title track closes the album, offering the listener a glimpse of shadows of the past. It took Aycock 12 years of compiling and building upon the various recordings that make up this album, and you sense as you listen how much of a labour of love this project really was. The album’s available on vinyl through Feeding Tube in America, or on Worried Songs here in the UK.

(Phil)

SONGS OF GREEN PHEASANT - SINGS THE PASSING

(CD/DL on Rusted Rail)

Five years after his last album, Duncan Sumpner returns to charm us once again with a collection of tunes that are inventive and beautiful, creeping under your skin like an unexpected sun-drenched day.

Sounding like an early Orb track, ‘Dark’ unfolds slowly, vocals drones and crackling atmosphere finally giving way to a ramshackle acoustic riff and shimmering reverb, brass instruments adding flashes of light to the tune as the vocals draw you into this dream-laden folk song that sets the tone for the rest of the album.  Next up, ‘Have Patience’ is another slowly revolving tune, Baroque Folk Pop with a twist of psychedelics and a delightful chorus that finds you singing along happily. Taking us deeper into the labyrinth of dreams, ‘The Visiting Hours and the Rain’ relies heavily on repetition and drone to build atmosphere before sweet guitar lines grow like spring flowers from the soundscape, all rather beautiful and possibly my favourite track, especially the last couple of minutes as the music drifts into the infinite.

    Reminding me of Bon Iver, in atmosphere at least, ‘Whitsun Girls’ is another haunting tune that is beautifully arranged and alive with emotion, the melancholy mood lifted slightly as the percussion led ‘By Tomorrow’ dances into view, a jauntier   version of what has gone before and also rather lovely. Talking of what has gone before the eleven minute ‘Private Prophecy’ seems to sum it all up, delicate instrumental passages being overwhelmed by drones and experimentation only to re-emerge again in a different guise. Definitely a track worthy of headphones, the music will lead you back into the labyrinth to discover ancient myths and hidden treasure.

   To round things off, ‘Who Needs Money’ reminds me of the Beta Band, lo-fi pop happiness that wholly satisfies, the hypnotic vocal delivery one final delight on an album filled with wonder. To be honest it took me a little while to really appreciate this album; it was about four spins before it clicked in my brain, but I am very happy it did and maybe it will click for you too.

(Simon Lewis)

BRIAN BILSTON AND THE CATENARY WIRES - SOUNDS MADE BY HUMANS

(Available on Skep Wax)

Poet Brian Bilston began his career by sharing his poems online and ultimately amassing over half a million social media followers (garnering the sobriquet “Poet Laureate Of Twitter”) and publishing over half a dozen books of poetry. The Catenary Wires is one of several projects featuring Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey, long-time personal and musical partners in indie pop legends Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Tender Trap, and Marine Research who also record with indie super-group Swansea Sound (featuring members of the Pooh Sticks, Dentists, Death In Vegas, and Thrashing Doves). A fine pedigree indeed! When word reached the couple that Bilston was wearing a Heavenly T-shirt at one of his poetry readings, the mutual fans were introduced, setting in motion the groundwork for a musical collaboration.

     Pursey selected 13 of Bilston’s poems and created melodies and arrangements for the full band (including drummer Ian Button and keyboardist Fay Hallam) to develop into Sounds Made By Humans. Pursey had his work cut out for him. Unlike songwriting collaborations where one artist writes the lyrics and another sets them to music (or vice versa, a la Taupin & John, Difford & Tilbrook, et. al.) occasionally conforming one art to the other to create a coherent outcome, Pursey had a fixed set of “lyrics” to work with (Bilston’s pre-existing poems) and his challenge was to seamlessly craft melodies to set them into a musical context without obscuring Bilston’s original intentions. An included booklet with the poems Pursey set to music is a welcome addition.

     This is definitely not an “installation” where Bilston reads his poems and the band improvises behind him. This is a collaborative effort with words/lyrics sung, spoken, and sometimes both within the same “song-poem.” A difficult proposition to be sure, and one which the participants carry off with nary a glitch. There’s no forced melody that the words feel shoehorned into, nor words awkwardly enunciated to fit into a catchy melody. Pursey also doesn’t fall into the trap of turning Bilston’s words into a “book” for overly theatrical show tunes. Although how this would play on the West End remains to be seen! So, to the material at hand.

     We begin with the title of Bilston’s 2021 collection ‘Alexa, What Is There To Know About Love?’ A martial march sways along as our trustworthy robot rattles off an abundance of options before Bilston gives up and orders it to stop! ‘The Interview’ challenges us with the standard nonsensical questions (after our nervous candidate is offered a glass of water - without any water in it) and the game is afoot. We’re soon on the verge of a Pythonesque argument (no we’re not) and a barrage of incomprehensible puzzles seemingly devised by Philomena Cunk. Next!

     An early highlight that’s garnered lots of attention in the socials is ‘Every Song On The Radio Reminds Me of You.’ It’s a sentimental stroll through Bilston’s record collection that’s particularly entertaining for folks like me who equate life’s adventures with lyrics in a favourite song. It’s a trivia contest for musicologists who live down rabbit holes and the cleverest song I’ve heard since Barclay James Harvest’s ‘Titles.’ [Our friend Mary Lou Lord’s ‘His Indie World’ and Mystery Jets’ ‘Greatest Hits’ follow close behind.] One of Pursey’s finest melodies and gorgeous vocals from Fletcher add to the fun.

     ‘Might Have, Might Not Have’ is pure twee-inflected jangly pop from the C8n heyday, although I enjoyed the musical interludes of ‘To Do List’ over the actual poem which seems awkwardly inserted into a perfectly fine pop song. The dreamy ‘Compilation Cassette’ struck a personal chord as I’ve also succumbed to the nasty habit of making same for girls I barely knew but thought (wrongly of course) that the effort was at least worth a date to explore a possible relationship. ‘Out Of The Rain’ is another single-worthy toe tapper. I wonder what it would have sounded like if the poem was sung instead of recited?

     Fans of the fab Edward Ball (The Times) will enjoy Bilston’s slice-of-life observational insights into daily encounters with the sounds made by fellow humans trying to get along in a 21^st century world that didn’t quite turn out the way we hoped (‘As I Grow Old I Will March Not Shuffle’). And as the set winds down with the all-hands-on-deck singalong ‘My Heart Is A Lump Of Rock’ and the punky Who-styled banger ‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulting’ (are you sensing a bit of a Peter Pan complex here?) you can rest assured that there are others like you who enjoyed this record and Bilston is all too pleased to describe them in closer ‘Customers Who Bought This Record Also Bought’ - sort of an RIYL nightcap for time well spent with this raconteur and his eclectic group of musicologists.

(Jeff Penczak)

(FRUITS de MER Double CD  www.fruitsdemerrecords.com )

The Chemistry Set have had a long relationship with the Fruits de Mer record label going back some fifteen years beginning with a track from 2010, recorded for a various artists album featuring heavily phased songs entitled ‘It’s A Phase We’re Going Through’ called ‘Silver Birch’ which is long out of print and appears here as the opening track and indeed a statement of intent for the band. These “Introduction To” CD’s, are a great way to purchase some of their long sold out and very limited 7” singles and LP’s.

We here at Terrascope have reviewed many of these releases to date, and indeed our relationship with the band goes back much further than that even: see Phil’s feature from 2008 here: http://www.terrascope.co.uk/Features/Chemistry_Set.htm ] The band consist of Dave McLean and Paul Lake and together they have released over 50 records, the first appearing in the late eighties, but this compilation mainly concentrates on their recordings for the Fruits de Mer label.

The set is limited to 300 copies and has just gone on sale, so get in quick; they are also ridiculously great value. Over thirty songs appear in a fairly chronological order beginning with ‘Silver Birch’ from the 2010 various artists album ‘It’s A Phase We Are Going Through’. The first 7” from them for the label was ‘Time To Breathe’ and from it we get that A side and the terrific ‘Come Kiss Me Vibrate And Smile’, both originals from 2012. This is followed by both sides of their 2014 EP ‘Elapsed Memories’ and ‘A Cure For The Inflicted Afflicted’, also both originals and a cover of the Jimi Hendrix song ‘Love Or Confusion’. Another pair of original songs make up 2017’s Lovely Cuppa Tea, plus a superb ‘Legend Of A Mind’, followed by both sides of their 2018 7” ‘Firefly’ and ‘Sail Away’, again both originals.

From the USA label Hypnotic Bridge we get another original ‘Paint Me A Dream’, plus a superb cover of Mark Fry’s  ‘The Witch’, both of these songs date from 2021, I don’t have this single so it’s nice of them to include it here. We then have a couple of highly limited lathe cut singles issued under their own names Paul’s terrific cover of the Traffic classic ‘Dear Mr Fantasy’ and Dave’s great cover of (UK) Kaleidoscope’s ‘Faintly Blowing’, the first disc then culminates with a remix of ‘The Witch’ by Astralasia’s Marc Swordfish, for good measure.

The second CD begins with five tracks from their 2010 ‘This Day Will Never Happen Again’ album, (this was released before their association with FdM) from Dead Bees Records and will probably be the first time many of the band’s fans get to hear them and mighty fine they are too, especially ‘The World Is Hollow And I touched The Sky’, followed by eight songs from their 2016 album ‘The Endless More And More’, an album we reviewed favourably at the time, it can be found in the archive section of the website, this album is a gem containing wonderful songs such as ‘Albert Hoffman’, ‘The Fountains of Neptune’ and ‘Winter Sun’ all of which are included here. Three years ago the band released ‘The Pink Felt Trip’, another peach of an album and from that we get the title track plus ‘Psychotronic Man’ and ‘Self- Expression Trinity’.  This set encapsulates what the dynamic duo is all about, lysergic tunes, with heaps of mellotron, get in quick before they sell out, this is a great set and highly recommended.  

(Andrew Young)