Beautiful
songs, sumptuous arrangements, lounge-bar crooning and sceptical
sideways glances!
What a year it's been
for music. Though there's been no unifying next big thing or exciting
new genre, there's been a steady stream of strong albums released
over the last twelve months. One record label in the midst of a
purple patch is Gare du Nord Records. Their year began with the
eponymous debut by The Cold Spells, followed by great records by
Papernut Cambridge and Jack Hayter amongst others, and now comes
Peace Signs by Keiron Phelan. He has previous form as a member
of State River Widening, Smile Down Upon Us and Littlebow, but I'm
saddened to admit this is my first encounter with his work.
Peace Signs is
an album that's easy to enjoy, full of gorgeous arrangements,
lyrically rich and melodic, but also full of surprises, curve-balls
and intriguing cul-de-sacs. The connection may not be obvious and I
want to avoid comparisons where possible but the record it most
reminds me of is Don't Stand Me Down by Dexy's Midnight
Runners. Not only because it shares Irish showband textures at times,
but also because it's a record that blurs the lines between the
personal and the political. Similarly it's an album that takes
serious subjects and sceptical sideways glances, adds a little
humour and puts them into gorgeously arranged pop songs, though on
Peace Signs there's the extra adornments of harps, woodwind,
pedal steel and piano in addition to the Dexy's-style violin.
This gently
intoxicating instrumentation is present on opening track 'New Swedish
Fiction' set atop some subtly but funky drums, with Phelan singing of
the joys of Scandinavian noir novels. The album's title track then
follows, a piano-led ballad about hippie girlfriends with Phelan's
deep-voiced lounge-bar crooning lending the song depth and poignancy.
'Satellite Hitori' is the catchiest offering here, containing all the
hallmarks of a hit single. Pete Waterman would no doubt part with a
some vintage train memorabilia to have written it.
By rights 'Song For
Ziggy' should be the theme tune for a gentle television sitcom set in
suburbia, centred around a warring but ultimately loving family. It's
on 'Mother To Daughter Poem' where things take a really interesting
turn, the song containing Polynesian folk textures, neo-classical
composition and a tune and lyrics that bring to mind a nursery rhyme
from the height of the industrial revolution. 'Apple Shades' acts as
a mid album instrumental interlude, a short tone poem before 'My
Children Just The Same' and 'Ain't She Grown' where the band sound
like an accomplished but road-weary Irish showband playing melancholy
songs for themselves after the bar has closed and emptied of punters.
Both songs expressing the beauty and sadness found in the passing of
time.
The album's final
closing song include a country and western instrumental ('Country
Song'), a gentle swipe at religion ('Hippie Priest) and 'Canterbury'
where a spoken word vocal pays homage to Chaucer while the music pays
tribute to Canterbury's reputation for jazz and folk-infused rock.
Apologies for breaking down this record into its individual songs,
and thanks for reading if you've made it this far. I may have not
quite done this record justice but if you give it a listen you'll be
richly rewarded as you'll hear new things with each listen, be it an
insightful lyric or an instrument tucked away somewhere in the
arrangement. A highly recommended release.
**THE
PEACE SIGNS ALBUM LAUNCH SHOW IS AT THE GALLERY ROOM, ANTENNA STUDIOS, CRYSTAL PALACE ON SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER. SUPPORT FROM
OLIVER CHERER**
Click here for Gare du
Nord Records.
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