We do need to catch up, the albums are piling up, there’s more arriving every day, it is a non-stop operation, we never will catch up, here are some of those albums that have been demanding our attention, you know the policy around here, we do try and stick to it, god save the cat, vote out the damn self-serving Tories and all that…
Beak> >>>> (Invada Records/Temporary Residence) – The hard, pointed part of a bird’s mouth: Birds use their beaks to pick up food, this Beak> are an English experimental electronic rock music band, consisting of Geoff Barrow (of Portishead), together with Billy Fuller (Robert Plant’s Sensational Space Shifters) and Will Young (Moon Gangs), do we call this “Four”? The trio’s first album in six years, released a couple of weeks ago with no real fanfare, advance warning, singles or anything much, it all feels very relaxed, a pleasure, a labour of love.
Beak>’s fingerprints are all this. well of course they are, that warm mix of gentle motorik movement, the gentle psych glow, the warm groove, the refined synths and those vocals that kind of do what they need to do without ever really being there, it just feels right. It feels easy, just easy to go with, to enjoy, from the start and Strawberry Line, an eight-minute tribute to Barrow’s dog Alfie so we’re told, that’s him on the cover firing laser beams from his eyes across Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge, from the start to the very easy finish of Cellophane, it all just right. You don’t really need our words, it came out at the end of May, you can explore it all on Bandcamp or Spotify or wherever you like to go to explore these things, don’t just grab a quick bite though, it is an album that deserves the right moment, that deserves your time, proper attention, it is an album that will reward you. Refined.
Sudden Voices – Days and Nights (Sudden Voices) – This really is gorgeous, the problem here (or maybe the excuse) is that there is too much music – of course there can never be too much music – but there is too much music and writing about music long since stopped being the first priority around the paint-infested Organ bunker, we did more than our share back there before the internet and social media and how many followers have you got and all that crap (loads my the way, I bet our mailing lists are way bigger than yours, it isn’t all about Twitter and Instabloodygram numbers you know). As we said (they said) last time around, Sudden Voices are a “London based group mixing ragged space jazz with off-kilter krautrock”, although this is mostly the delightful work of one time Union Wireless man Ben Morris. who, in turn, returned to music rather gloriously last year after a hiatus of more than fifteen years.
Days and Nights does indeed build beautifully on last year’s excellent debut album from Sudden Voices, we’re told there’s an addition of a richer palette of instruments to the mix. Those strings, mallets, reeds, and keys do mingle in just the right way with the strength of the the delicate vocal harmonies, the gentle chants and the beautiful drones, creating a gently organic form of glowing psychedelia that rises and falls around refined bass-driven grooves almost perfectly if you allow it all the time. The writing is indeed sharper and the arrangements more adventurous without ever getting too adventurous for their own good, the musical ideas are very much drawn out into what really are rather warm rather unique textures (and yes this really is a rather lazy review but we really must get something up on line, this beautifully crafted album has been out since May, it deserves our time and your)
Ben talks of Influences “that range from the metronomic pulse of Krautrock, through to the space jazz of Bitches Brew, via a clear fondness for Spirit of Eden era Talk Talk and, inevitably, the Fall”. And yes, “there is a careful attention to detail here as songs unfold at their own pace, though nothing outstays its welcome and the record clocks in at just over half an hour”, it has been on repeat and played pretty much every day for weeks now and really I can only apologise for taking so long to post about it (maybe the wait until Midsummer and better weather is worth it, these pieces seem perfect on Solstice eve), give it time now…. (sw)
Dark Sky Burial – Solve Et Coagula – This is probably about as far away from the aggression of Napalm Death as you might like to get, it does kind of feel like sketches, pages from sketch books, not necessarily a bad thing, some of the best art is in sketch books, it does feel like a collection of (sometimes intricate) pieces that aren’t quite full concluded yet, that there’s maybe something bigger to come. Not sure if about those talked of “angular landscapes”, it all feels rather rounded, rather smooth, easy, comfortable, cathartic. Dare I mention The Enid? No, probably not, nowhere near as bombastic, none of those disturbing undertones, it does have a classical edge though. “Marking the last part if the Maze Quadrilogy“, so we’re told, I guess we missed the previous pieces, “Solve Et Coagula represents what Shane Embury calls “signifying wholeness” that hides behind the purpose of its’ creator. Solve Et Coagula ends a very experimental chapter for DSB’ – Embury continues: “But for endings are beginnings and another horizon is just around the Door if we all dare to enter”. There is talk of “going through the angular landscapes and rough passages, Shane Embury, leads the listener through the world where pulse and your wide-fantasy are two main constants creating the outstanding echoes of what Dark Sky Burial is”.
And well, Napalm Death’s Shane Embury all relaxed, or at least, if not relaxed then reflective, inward looking and slightly experimental in a studio, a man alone making instrumental passages of rather peaceful instrumental classically-flavoured electronic music. Actually It isn’t really massively experimental, not in the great scheme of musically experimental things. It does feel rather personal and personally I kind of feel slightly inundated, hundreds of musicians locking themselves away in isolation making things that are kind of something rather like this, often far more experimental that this, I guess it is a bit like painters locking themselves in studios and making very personal paintings that are rather like a lot of other people’s paintings. I can’t say Solve Et Coagula is really engaging with me, it does evolve rather nicely over the course of the whole album, as a whole body of work, as a collection of pieces that make one whole – it is something you need to experience as one whole rather body of work rather then in little bits. It does rather feel like something rather like this arrives on a weekly (almost daily) basis though, things sent to us by record labels or via endless press releases from music PR companies, indeed sometimes from the musicians or artists themselves. It does kind of feel like lots of people are doing kind of similar things (and every one of them sending these things to us!) I can’t say Solve Et Coagula does whatever it is supposed to do for me personally, I’m not sure quite what the artistic point is? You might ask if there need to be a point or indeed has the point been missed by this reviewer? There are moments, like the rather moody To Set Free The Invisible Shape, moments that do hit the spot in a dystopian kind of way, a morning after the battle before soundtrack kind of way, it does kind of slowly seep in but… oh look, responding to music for anyone can be a struggle at times and Shane sounds like he’s been through a lot recently, this feels cathartic, maybe you can find something more here?
“‘Life for anyone can be a struggle at times’ explains Shane Embury. An honoured veteran of heavy music looks back at both sides of his artistic personality. On the one hand – Napalm Death, Brujeria, Tronos among other projects featuring Embury’s notable bass that became synonymous to the adjective “grinding”. On the other hand – Dark Sky Burial. Not just another project. But a different one. Coming through personal tragedies, Embury believes It all ignited a quest to find meaning and also rediscover just who he is”.
Kiasmos – II (Erased Tapes) – “The duo of Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen have taken their sweet time to make a follow-up to 2014’s much loved debut, but it was worth the wait. Finally they return to the fold this year with an album that Olafur jokingly refers to as ’emotional rave’.” so reads the press release, this kind of feels “nice”, it kind of feels like the shallow end, it feels comfortable, way too comfortably nice, emotionally bereft, it kind of feels like something that the coffee drinkers of Hackney’s Broadway Market might feel is edgy as they grow their beards and discuss holidays destinations or what shade of grey to paint the window frames of their houses, “Are you taking the family to Glasto this year? We might fly out to Burning Man”, this is sugary, this is way too nice, this is almost offensively nice, saccharine sweet, drenched in smoulch and I’m losing the will to live and yeah, I know the policy around here is to only cover things we feel positive about but jeeeeze, this is offensively polite and about as middle class ‘nice; as it gets and I’m gonna scream and shout til my dying breath, I’m gonna smash it up til there’s nothing left, if you care then it comes out in July. Maybe its my clothes must be to blame?
Circuline – C.O.R.E (Inner Nova Music) – Circuline’s new album “C.O.R.E” is a self declared Neo Prog thing, there’s nothing that progressive about Neo Prog, it is mostly a polite little sub genre that evolved sometime after wind had stopped blowing the sails of once great bands like Marillion, Pallas, IQ and the rest somewhere in the mid 80s, some kind of conservative (small c or maybe at times a big one?) music that now and again hints at the beauty of proper prog rock and the earlier days, the best days of beautiful bands like Genesis to Yes. Circuline do indeed rather politely hint in terms of 70s prog rock, it is mostly a politely melodic conservative take on things though and the less adventurous bands like Porcupine Tree or the later days of Big Big Train or the dreadful stodge of Pineapple Thief, the better moments sound like early Kansas or maybe Camel. Yes there are one or two nice details in the melodic politeness, the well behaved pop rock but we were just listening to King Crimson’s live album USA (it came out fifty years ago this week, it still sounds as exciting as the first time I heard it) and that filthy Larks Tongue riff and those dangerous bass lines, we were listening to Van Der Graaf’s Vital yesterday, now those massive adventures really were and still are Progressive and really this Circuline album is a millions miles away with these polite slices of radio friendly mid-paced pop rock. At best this is ‘nice’, it kind of plods, it sounds middle-aged, it sounds like the kind of thing they love at that glossy magazine called Prog, it ain’t my idea of prog and when the press release is trumpeting them as a “Prog Ensemble” then our hand is kind of forced, when the American band describe themselves as a “modern cinematic progressive rock band featuring two theatrical lead vocalists, a keyboard player from Juilliard, a jazz-rock genius on guitar, a rocking bass player from another galaxy, and a drummer with progressive rock in his DNA” we kind of have to say something – this is NOT what we’re talking about when we rave and drool over prog rock!Circuline do have their moments, You sounds a little like some really nice West Coast pop, they do have moments, but this m’lud, ain’t prog rock and this mid/late 80s Neo beast (that emerged sometime after the positive danger of the and the cutting early 80s new wave of prog) is mostly a tiresome approximation of a once beautiful thing.
Here’s what the band have to say: “Circuline’s C.O.R.E. was written and recorded between 2018 and 2023, for this album the band wanted to keep all the writing “in-house”. So, the majority of the material was written by Andrew, Darin, and Natalie. Billy Spillane had input into almost every song, before he decided it was time to move on. Two of the songs were co-written with Matt Dorsey, who is still a good friend and colleague of the band’s – Andrew will be performing with his band at the International ProgStock Festival this year. Alek Darson had invaluable input during the writing and arranging stages. Shelby and Dave brought new perspectives and their own unique artistry to these songs, and the band couldn’t be happier with the result. The icing on the cake is to have good friend Joe Deninzon (Kansas, Stratospheerius) as a Guest Artist for some killer electric violin parts!
Says Andrew, “Since the music is the easiest part of the writing for us, we focused on the Songwriting – the lyrics and melodies. That’s the hardest part for us, which is one of the many reasons it took so long to finish the record. We are natural “long-form storytellers”, with most of our songs in the past being six to eight minutes long. Our intention is to appeal to a wider audience, which often means shorter attention spans, so we challenged ourselves to write some shorter, “radio-friendly, pop-rock” songs. We also wanted to write some faster songs, since our default in the past has been in the mid-tempo, more mellow range. So, we accomplished that. I got my ‘power ballad anthem’ in there. Of course, our influences of modern and classic progressive rock, such as Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Steven Wilson, and Gong, are also represented. It’s definitely an eclectic album.”
– And well, that’s what the band said, do like it a little more that 2016’s Counterpoint, it has a moment or two, this ain’t my idea of progressive rock though, this is mostly neo prog politeness and all, well, all rather un-progressive if at times I guess we could politely call it kind of “nice”, and far from the worst slice of neoness that has come out way, isn’t sampling The Queen a good way to get yourselves hung, drawn and quartered? (sw)
C.O.R.E is out on September 20th 2024, it landed here this weekend, I guess they’ll post more details on their website or Bandcamp in due course.
Matt Wilier – Variations (Archangelo Music) – According to the press release “Matt Wilier began improvising on piano at the age of 5, with no knowledge of music other than his own feelings and sensations. After practicing for a few years, it was at the music conservatory that he discovered technique and then classical music. From the age of 12, he would fall asleep listening to Keith Jarrett’s solo piano albums, including ‘The Köln Concert’ and ‘La Scala’. During the same period, after having studied the Romantics (and Chopin’s rubato), he was captivated by impressionist music and became fascinated by the French movement ‘Les Six’. But ultimately, he considers ‘Gaspard de la Nuit’ by Maurice Ravel to be one of the most beautiful piano works.
While retaining his initial desire for improvisation, he threw himself into minimalist and repetitive music, freeing himself from judgement and taking an interest in sonic resonances, frequencies and vibrations of the piano as proof of the passage of time. In 2019, he released his first EP ‘Jours’, a collection of older improvised recordings, and chose to regularly release tracks resulting from his process of creation with the French label, Bruit Blanc. ‘Variations’, his new 11-track album, will be released on 28th June 2024. The recording of this album was no exception, with Matt once again focusing on resonances. ‘Variations’ is built in the same way, with changing melodies, harmonies and rhythms. However, this time the piano is not alone, with strings, strings layers, ensemble, and analogue bass frequencies as accompaniment. This album is built like an original movie soundtrack. Images flash by as you close your eyes and listen to it. Matt is already working on a new solo piano double album, with another version which is its cello and piano reflection… but that’s another story for another time”.
Well that’s what the press release said, the album is pleasant enough, mellow, lush, full bodied, piano, strings, lots of stings, all at that same mid pace, same colour al lthe way through, all the same in terms of texture, it does sound like a film soundtrack, it sounds like lots and lots of polite classical piano albums that turn up here without really sounding anything more than any of the many others.
And thus ends part one of an attempt to catch up and clear out the inbox, meanwhile here’s a splendid playlist for those of you who so the Spotify thing….
THE ORGAN 