Simon Godfrey - Motherland

One of my most exciting musical finds of recent years has been the band ‘Tinyfish’. They have a wonderful Englishness about them, that is reflected in their music and also in the sense of fun and humour that pervades what they do, particularly in their live shows. At the heart of that is their ebullient front-man, Simon Godfrey. Having discovered this brilliant band it came as a great sadness to learn that, following their excellent ‘The Big Red Spark’, there would be a hiatus in the band’s playing and recording together. Thankfully this didn’t mean an end to the music: Godfrey went on to record a kind of ‘techno-prog’ album with Shineback – ‘Rise up Forgotten, Return Destroyed’, and recently he has released his first collection of work under his own name – ‘Motherland’.



This is an album of short, simple songs (nothing over six minutes), but strong ones nonetheless: songs that, though simple, display a deceptive complexity. A collection of 11 tracks which total just under 43 minutes, this is song-writing from the heyday of the acoustic troubadours. Although dominated by the acoustic guitar, this collection displays a variety of musical textures accompanied by strong, distinctive and at times quite emotional and emotive vocals. For those familiar with Simon’s earlier work, this collection is, to my ears, more Tinyfish than Shineback.

That said, the album opens with a fresh rendering of a track from the Shineback album, ‘Faultlines’, which for the first minute or so creates an expectation for the album that is soon overturned, with a moody, ambient drone giving way to folky steel guitar. The mood of the songs varies from the thoughtful and slightly melancholic ‘Faultlines’ and the instrumental title track, (with spoken word from Godfrey’s long-time collaborator Robert Ramsay) through the upbeat sequence of ‘Tearing up the Room’, ‘God Help Me If I’m Wrong’ and Tinyfish classic ‘The June Jar’, to the slow, dreamy ballad ‘Sally Won’t Remember’, for me perhaps the most heartfelt song on the album.

From what I have seen and read of Simon Godfrey, he is a man who appears to enjoy life – perhaps more so now that he has secured his visa to enable him to live, work and marry in America; he is one with a great, and at times strange, sense of humour, but who shows here a seriousness and sensitivity alongside his fun side. If this is to be his parting gift to his ‘Motherland’, then it is a fine one.

(Also published on Progarchy.com)

Noah

It's not often that I go to see a movie that has had as many bad reviews as has Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah', but having seen and heard so much negativity surrounding this film, I felt I ought to take a look for myself and see what all the fuss was about.

The story of Noah and his ark is one that is still (I think) told to children as it was to me when I was young. The cosy image of the bearded old man with his boat full of all kinds of animals can be an endearing one. The biblical story on which it is based is a little earthier than the cutesy idea that is often portrayed, and it was good to see that Aronofsky didn't shy away from some of the meatier aspects of the tale.
The biblical story is one of judgement for humanity's disobedience, tinged with hope as God chooses Noah and his family to be the ones to restart the human project. Aronofsky's take seemed to me to be less hopeful, until near the end of the film when Noah seems to have a change of heart when confronted with his twin grand-daughters. Noah is portrayed early on as some kind of vegetarian crusader, appalled at what he sees as the needless slaughter of animals for food (yet not averse to slaying more than a few humans when he or his family are threatened) who is told of the impending destruction of humanity by The Creator (the only way to which any deity is referred). As the story unfolds he becomes convinced that, even though he and his family are being saved from the deluge, that they too deserve to perish with the rest of humanity, though this should be through natural means, rather than the horrors of drowning. (!)

What seems to have upset a number of critics - particularly those from the evangelical wing of the Christian constituency - is that this is not a strict telling of the biblical story from Genesis. The stories of the flood in Genesis 6-9 (the biblical account is an amalgamation of at least two sources, as any attentive reading will show) only give certain details of what may have taken place (I am firmly of the opinion that this is myth rather than strict history): what Aronofsky does is use his creative licence to fill in some of the gaps. Some of that ways he does this are quite fanciful to say the least: The Watchers - fallen angels who became encased in stone and whose initial task was to protect Cain after his banishment, but who then help Noah with the construction of the Ark - did seem just a little too far-fetched. But the tension between Noah's family - descendants of Seth, the third son of Adam & Eve - and the rest of humanity, descended from Cain did seem plausible, and their leader, Tubal-Cain, was played with Ray Winstone's usual menace to great effect. It was also good to see that the epilogue to the story, where Noah gets drunk and is seen passed-out and naked by his son Ham, was included (though not the cursing of Ham and his descendants).

There were a number of nods to the contemporary world within the film. The green agenda was a prominent under-current early on for me, as was its flip-side in the exploitation of the world that Tubal-Cain seemed to be advocating. In Noah's telling of the story of creation, Aronofsky managed to combine the biblical creation myth with images depicting the Big Bang, the formation of galaxies and planets, and the processes of evolution seamlessly, demonstrating that these two ideas don't need to be seen as being mutually exclusive (which for me can only be a good thing). And in one of the dream sequences which depicts the descent of humanity into depravity, some of the images of human death spanned the centuries up to the present day, which, although anachronistic, demonstrates maybe that judgement and salvation are still relevant today as topics for thought and action. And there is always the sub-plot of family tensions - sibling rivalry/ jealousy and the tensions between father and sons (particularly the troubled middle one) - to contend with.

As a piece of entertainment it was OK, no more. As an adaptation of a biblical tale, it was patchy at best. The acting was really nothing to write home about: I think all of the main leads have done better work. Visually it was OK - though I only saw the 2D version - with some quite good special effects.

All in all, not as bad as some have made out, but not a film that I'll be busting a gut to watch again.

John Bassett - Unearth

Some might say that there can be nothing more prog than a band by the name of King Bathmat, and if you're unfamiliar with their work I would recommend that you check them out, particularly their last two albums, 'Truth Button' and 'Overcoming the Monster'. The guiding light behind this project is a gentleman by the name of John Bassett, and he has just released his first solo album, 'Unearth'.

The first thing that grabbed me about this recording was the stunning image on the cover -  a truly brilliant piece of photography which, for me, invites you to want to see what the package contains. And once you start listening, you're treated to some inspired and inspiring song-writing, but in a very different vein from the King Bathmat material.

This is an album graced with haunting harmonies and tantalising counterpoint. The whole thing has, for the most part, a somewhat melancholic, thoughtful air to it. Having said that there are some more upbeat moments, for example in 'Nothing Sacred' and the instrumental 'Kylerhea', and 'Pantomime' has an almost playful edge to it in the swirling keyboards that hang in the background throughout. This is a collection full of surprises and suggestions: the blackbirds that begin and end 'Keep Dear' are endearing; I found hints of Nirvana's 'All Apologies' in 'TV is God', and there are echoes musically for me in the closing track 'Comedian' of the album opener 'Stay Away From The Dark', book-ending a complete package.

There is none of the bombast of the King Bathmat material here, but for those who appreciate good acoustic songs well-written and performed, this is an album that will not disappoint.

Matt Stevens - Lucid

Anyone who is used to the music of Matt Stevens, with his looping acoustic guitar and interesting time signatures may find his latest offering - Lucid - a bit of a shock to the system. The strange rhythms are still present, but this is, in places, a much bolder, louder, heavier collection of tunes than hitherto. In fact at times it put me more in mind of his work with The Fierce and the Dead than his previous solo work (not that that's a bad thing).

The album opener, 'Oxymoron', hits you straight between the eyes with its staccato beats and 15/8 time, and this continues with the 4.3.4.2 pattern of the 13/8 'Flow' - this is not music to dance to (easily) but music to tantalise and excite nonetheless. That feeling continues with 'Unsettled', which certainly can do that with its 22-beat structure. 'The Other Side' (track 4) is more like the early Stevens: a quieter and more relaxing acoustic tune, which has a joyous edge to it in places. 'The Ascent' reminded me of King Crimson's 80s material and has some stirring electric guitar runs within it. The next track 'Coulrophobia' is an ethereal, slightly eerie combination of guitars & vibes that gives the feel of some kind of dysfunctional musical box, which kind of makes sense when you discover (as I did) that the title refers to a fear of clowns. The title track 'Lucid' and its follower 'KEA' build layers of sound upon one another in typical Stevens manner, one with electric instruments, the other acoustically.

Thus far the tunes have all clocked in at 3:31 or under, but now we are treated to two fuller pieces. 'Street and Circus', at just under 5 minutes, has a warm 12-string ambiance to it that picks up in intensity towards the end as the drums kick in and makes use of the time it has to develop nicely. Then we have the epic - nearly 12 minutes of 'The Bridge', which was many people's introduction to the album as it was the first track released. This is a tune with a heavy, driving beat to begin with, which fades out to something almost industrial before a quiet acoustic interlude draws you in. The initial theme returns, leading into bass and drums keeping a rhythm going behind the whoosh of white noise before the final flourish of screaming electric guitars brings up to a conclusion. The final cut, 'A Boy', sort of waltzes through to the end of the album, and is almost a song without words in its lyricism.

This is another wonderful and varied selection from Matt, and I would urge you all, if you haven't done so, to give it a serious listening-to. You will not be disappointed.

The Death of the Left

This week in British politics has seen the death of two leading lights of the Left: Bob Crow, leader of the RMT Union, and Tony Benn.

What I have found particularly interesting has been the words that have been spoken about these men, not by their supporters and allies, but by those who are politically poles apart from them. To read of Boris Johnson eulogising Bob Crow, and even David Cameron finding kind words to say of Tony Benn, has been a little bemusing (even if Cameron's words were nothing more than praise of Benn's oratorical skills rather than his beliefs and policies).

All of it put me in mind of this classic Not the Nine o'Clock News sketch: