SONGS THEY NEVER PLAY ON THE RADIO

1. Torn Sail's Masterpiece This Short Sweet Life, finally

“THE MOVEMENT … represents in some sense a revolt against the hard mechanical conventional life and its insensibility to beauty (quite another thing to ornament). It is a protest against that so-called industrial progress which produces shoddy wares, the cheapness of which is paid for by the lives of their producers and the degradation of their users. It is a protest against the turning of men into machines, against artificial distinctions in art, and against making the immediate market value, or possibility of profit, the chief test of artistic merit. It also advances the claim of all and each to the common possession of beauty in things common and familiar, and would awaken the sense of this beauty, deadened and depressed as it now too often is, either on the one hand by luxurious superfluities, or on the other by the absence of the commonest necessities and the gnawing anxiety for the means of livelihood; not to speak of the everyday uglinesses to which we have accustomed our eyes, confused by the flood of false taste, or darkened by the hurried life of modern towns in which huge aggregations of humanity exist, equally removed from both art and nature and their kindly and refining influences.”

Walter Crane, “Of The Revival of Design and Handicraft”, in Arts and Crafts Essays, by Members of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, 1893

This blog in part exists to promote Torn Sail. They create truly transformative music and their brand of melancholia has a heart and integrity that makes this album so emotional it hurts to listen to at times. I'm reminded of the arts and crafts movement with their sailing vessel motifs and deep distrust of the machine made. However, 90% of the world's trade is by sea, so to listen to this album strictly with some romantic past in mind would be foolhardy. Today, factories, and harsh conditions exist on the water more than on the land. Everything on this album sounds authentic, natural and timeless. Not since the mighty Talk Talk has a band inhabited their own musical world in such a unique way.

The opener, the emancipatory Birds should need no introduction. The slide guitars and organ brew the listener into a state of near nirvana as you leave the doldrums of your existence behind. Bird as a metaphor for potentiality and boat, as our exploited real self, is strong imagery. Natural states denied coz we 'never have our work done.' The anticipatory fear is apparent when you press play on track two but worry not Ricochets is a majestic song. Huw's strengthened delivery acts as a counterpart to Emma's smooth as silk vocals. This is not some pastiche of Lee and Nancy, but an authentic contrast that evokes the red rocks of the canyon. A third voice, the acclaimed Mark Lanegan, helps the song realize its full potential by reaching tones that kick the desert sand in your eye.

Time and the travel of, both in life and imagined, are recurring themes. Next up is Self- Medication, a live favourite, which recorded, sounds more intense. I'm hearing another recurrent theme of being neither land locked nor airborne but instead inescapably trapped in what it means to be human. The wails and lolopping percussion hark back to the folk tradition, but again the organ bursts the song and especially the adult lullabies into an energized new life. 

The Bird is once more a metaphor for what we could be if we weren't clipped or 'chained to the factory.' The torn sail is a damaged wing. By now it's apparent that we're not just listening to what Rob Bright christened Balearic gloop but a fully realized concept album. 

A shame then that the next song Leave This World Behind is straight up pop with conventional registers that are reminiscent of Doves and Coldplay's more brazen attempts at radio play. It is inoffensive but not my cup of tea and luckily doesn't last too long. 

Fortunately, the next track is simply sublime. I first heard Treasure in a seek magic mix and heard of this fully realized version after talking with Huw in the summer of 2013. (A recurring theme of my own has been to type realized a lot. Quite by mistake.) It is basically the single version with a beautiful strung out coda featuring the mesmerizing vocals of Rachel Foster. What was already an achingly beautiful song is now something else, something more. The romantic imagery of a boat after a galaxy of sleep (lived experience) on an impossible but wondrous journey is realized musically in warm washes of colour and a vocal fragility that mirrors Huw's treatment perfectly. Transcendence has never sounded so sweet. 

Gains on Gains displays an urgency of purpose. Abetted by BJ Smith on Moog, it eventually climaxes before giving way to another wondrous musical passage that unsurprisingly sounds more aquatic than astral. It both anchors and reinforces the songs confused refrain 'we fight for ourselves.' It's just a song, after all, but a song that closes a modern masterpiece. 

This  Short Sweet Life is available from December and when Googled today, the Eurythmics appear on page one. That will all change. 

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=15&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi8wISav6DXAhUI0xoKHT29Cok4ChAWCDYwBA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbvinyl.com%2Fproducts%2Ftorn-sail-this-short-sweet-life&usg=AOvVaw0Uk8pLrLDvQ0VMqPfe34Hz

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=14&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj7mbWXgqLXAhWCwxoKHfjYC4w4ChC3Agg4MAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F225402661&usg=AOvVaw3D3iu3Wi2Aw9wwuRQvzvkf

HALF TERM REPORT

LIKE MOST folk I haven't done anything extraordinary with my year thus far, but there have been some special, even amazing, musical highs. I even came very close to putting together a couple of shows, but once again, things weren't meant to be. I did get to hear Bing Ji Ling cover 2 of my favourite songs. I can tell you, that won't happen very often. Special indeed.

Huw Costin and the torn tail 2 put out a great CD. State Trooper being a boss cover and Disconnected spraying like shards of fine cut glass yet transforming into a song of fragile beauty. Even better than the version when he supported Jeb Loy Nichols. It's great news that wonderfulsound are releasing the semi-mythical LP proper. Stunning vinyl and artwork are guaranteed.

John Stammers returned from the wilderness to casually deliver a masterpiece on the same label. (Stunning vinyl and artwork.) Waiting Around the title track got reworked by Colorama who lost its ochre and burnt orange quality and gave it a broader spectrum of colour as their name suggests they would.

 

 

 

Away from all things troubadour, Tommy Awards continues on their divine path. Prometheus is a work of fine majesty and is also given fresh new life after Jonny Nash got hold of it. A smoking jacket's horizontal scene may spring up as a consequence. For a definitive study of the Tommy sound see Ban Ban Ton Ton's premier blog.

Frotee continues to amaze with their Estonian musical archaeology and always unearths the warmest sounds. Sven Grunberg's Anima 1977- 2001 is no exception. Its sleeve notes befit the mighty Finders Keepers label. Box Bedroom Rebels always release interesting music and more often than not inspired by the fey 80s scene. Field Route is another fine example. Melodic, cascading guitar, smudged, supported vocal with harmonies, and, importantly, pop sensibilities, ooze out of their little seven, making me forget that my hair's no longer floppy. The label also put out the sound of summer on a seven from Oz. I try to find my way around by Sunset Dreams is truly blinding. Imagine Horsebeach actually on a beach. That truly blinding.

Cassette action has been mainly mix orientated. For dancing Leolyxxx's cornucopia of joy, the Nigerian boogie brilliance that is Plastic inners is a marvel. Visible Cloaks Transmissions hits the spot marked, home listening superbly, and, for something odd but delightful, look no further than Ossia and Cera Khins Blue Baboons mix. Compelling.I can't not mention Seafaring Strangers and its 2 prime cuts. If Nick Drake had lived to buy a yacht, he would've sounded not too dissimilar from Chuck Senrick's Be so nice. It's worth the admittance price alone, but you also get Salty Miller's delightful One more Time. Another yacht club winner is Kenny Dickinson's Labor Of Love rework. A tune that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Balearic Mike's Fascinating Rhythms label. What's good enough for Ned.

All that said, edit of the decade is undoubtedly Hold On a Stephane Severac number that was kindly shared by Robert Johnston and has been played back to back with the Level 42 smash Leaving me Now for the best part of the year since, even in its original sax laden form. It is actually truly stunning, but Johnny hates sax.  The edit basso reworks the song into a Balearic masterpiece to rival TV Scene by slowing down the tempo, adding throb, and importantly phasing out the sax. Yes, that fucking good. I think that's the first time I've used the word Balearic since my opening blog post in 2013.

9. UNTITLED 

By Daniel Nellstrum Brown 

 For Sock Free Hideaway

https://www.mixcloud.com/david7322/untitled-by-daniel-nellstrum-brown-for-sock-free-hosts/

MASSIV THANKS to Daniel for his super and speedily delivered sock free mix. Super being the operative word. I'm transported to my desert island with a trusty light sabre at hand, protecting Leia from dark forces. His posts often have that wobbly effect on me, and this mix elongates those sensations superbly. I am essentially a superstar of sound in someone else's mix. You can be too. Jump in the waters warm and share some spiritually uplifting moments with us.   

In Daniel's own words:                                ' ... '

(The wonderful music is all his doing, the rest is all my fault.)

COMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

 

I FINALLY got to see Jim road test his wonderful Begin live experience. Albeit, a beer festival wasn't the perfect setting, but as a precursor to greater voyages ahead, it was fitting. However, I'm well into my middle years and real ale still tastes of flower beds to my palate. Other than that solitary excursion, it was home listening all the way for me.   

 

Lunaria's All is Dream is ace and once again thanks to Box Bedroom Rebels who by turning me onto Mandarinaduck's Gardensouls gave me a shade to the formers light. A constant cassette twinning par excellence. Another big unsurprising winner of late has been Balearic Social's Tommy Sessions vinyl, whose side-A closer, played loud, offers a total surrender to sound. I could never float around at speed with the cassette version turning around. The vinyl however offers an arms aloft behind the sofa moment for sure. Another year highlight was watching Lawrence of Belgravia in my jim-jams and in my front room, away from the Mancunian glitterati who were out in force last time I watched it. Telly heaven.    

Latterly, the year has been all about compilation albums. Fan-bloody-tastic ones. Ritual Chants, a triple-triple album trilogy by Psychemagik, is a work of wonder. I only pre-owned 4 cheapies I'd sourced through various blogs, mixes, etc (Especially the seek magic Gurvitz cut New World and Aficionado Facebook group RIP), so, I got a good money's worth. Some braver folk could take out 70 quid and dare to buy better, but not me.

The same bloody day Soundway dropped Doing it in Lagos. Proper choice cuts and proper crisp sound. I doubt Tony Monite's Only You could sound any better. It was almost matched by Rush Hours' Surinam Funk Force, a comp that featured my favourite jam of the year Tirsa Song by Soundtrack Orchestra and Silvy. Heavenly Sweetness, prolific as ever, hit pay dirt for me with Digital Zandoli, especially O.R.E.A'S Biguine Inferno. A really special moment.    

As if that wasn't enough cashola spent, Light in the Attic only goes and releases a European themed counterpart to I am The Center. A wondrous collection The Microcosm that leaves my jaw on the floor. If you're as tired of reading as I am writing, I will spare you my father rambling about how bloody good this is. Seen in this light, how can 2016 have been a bad year?

A further question is, what happened to the Torn Sail LP? It looked all systems go but has slunk back into folklore tales of extended mixes and major labels. I hope they're true, as at this rate Horsebeach will release their 12th studio album before it. 'Tis fitting that at some future point they will play my local theatre and sell it out inside an hour.