Terrascopic Rumbles No.2 (Mάρτιος 2012)

Tα "Terrascopic Rumbles" αναδημοσιεύονται από το terrascope.co.uk. To κείμενο που ακολουθεί έγραψε ο Simon Lewis και επιμελήθηκε ο Phil McMullen.

First released in 2008, Duck Egg Blue is a beautiful and fragile album filled with the songs of Peter Delaney. Recorded straight to tape with minimal overdub, the songs are played on the ukulele, which proves to be the perfect instrument to accompany Peter's lilting and gentle voice. Containing just seven song, this is a soft cloud of sound that drift across the room, filled with quiet joy and a calm heart. With every song bathed in perfection it is hard to pick individual highlights, but the sweet sounds of “Only” is a magical moment, whilst the raindrop delicacy of “The Healing House” is irresistible.

Another collection of melodic happiness can be found on I a Moon, the latest offering from North Sea Radio Orchestra. Featuring string and woodwind and some wonderful vocals, the album has a pastoral English feel, the almost classical motifs augmented with folk guitar and percussion, the album occasionally drifting into more experimental realms such as on the instrumental “Berliner Luft”, the track having a repeated rhythm that suggests Can or Neu, although the pastoral feel remains. On the title track, hints of Mike Oldfield can be heard, whilst throughout the album shades of Kate Bush, Eno, 70s folk-rock and Danielle Dax can be heard. Through it all though, the band retain their own identity, creating a rich and beautifully arranged album that has depth and longevity amongst its grooves.

Filled with angular and well constructed songs The Pope's Sister is an intriguing collection from Irish band Music for Dead Birds. With the songs dominated by rhythm and heavy guitar lines, there is an uneasy backbeat to the tunes, something evident on the excellent “The Only Male Nun in Town”. Whilst on “The Doctor's Daughter” a dream like state is invoked, samples of speech adding to the fragility of the song. By the time you get to “Release the Dogs” you find you are fully immersed in the album, the twisted guitar lines hooking you in with relentless ease, only releasing as the last strains of “The Electricians Father” fade away, the song itself a slow burning affair with a hypnotic feel.

Slow and stately, “Munc the Grover” is a rather fine introduction to Feorm, whose self-titled debut album is a collection of soaring and classy instrumentals, drifting drones morphing into powerful riffs and imaginative and beautiful interludes. After the opener, “Man is an Island” lifts the album higher, the intensity of Mono evident in this spacious and delicious slice of atmospheric music, although it ends far too soon without ever really exploding, whilst “The Long Drop” adds a cinematic quality to the songs, something that remains for the rest of the album. With stuttering echoed beats and sea swell chords, “Clatterhoof” is an  highlight a burst of energy before the collectiond seems to disintegrate, the next few songs quieter and dream-laden, the drone coming to the fore, the whole collection flowing together in a happy haze.

Heavier and more direct, the songs of Seluah never lose sight of the melodic, even when the guitars are crunching and the band rock out hard. With a seventies influence and an eye for arrangements, their album Red Parole is a fine collection with the powerful “Black Sand” having the most impact, although the whole album is well worth hearing, especially turned up loud and the windows wide open.

Tags: Peter Delaney, North Sea Radio Orchestra, Music for Dead Birds, Feorm, Seluah