In an age where facts are just a mouse click away it's always nice to hear something that is both strange and not easily definable.
I have listened to this album dozens of times now and am no closer to being able to identify with any surety its musical provenance or to discern what breed of listener it might appeal to.
Geographically speaking, it comes from the South-East England and was mostly recorded upstairs, 'Above the Dead' at London Road in the six-piece band's home town of Brighton.
Remarkably, this is the group's 15th self released album to date. A veritable cottage industry in which the production values follow no discernible trend.
The band's website tells us enigmatically that they "formed in the winter of 2002 with the desire to tell tales".
The latest album comes in a lovingly packaged sleeve with two CDs even though the music would easily fit on one disc.
Hamilton Yarns' members - two male and four female - all contribute voices and there is no obvious leader. The drifting tunes have a homespun beauty and come dotted with field recordings which include birdsong, wind, fire, a babbling brook, gun shots, traffic noise and, on Hello, "dogs at the gate".
Instrumentally this is anti-rock and post-folk with the sounds of an accordion, omnichord, violin, clarinet, keyboards, analogue synth, bass guitar and, on Plumbing, a radiator!
|
Some random notes on selected tracks are attempts only to give some inkling of the quirky flavour of this album.
The hardanger fiddle (played by Jo Burke) lends Chimney a decidedly eerie quality. On Be the One Iain Paxon's voice, and overall nursery rhymey atmosphere, is reminiscent of Robert Wyatt at his most whimsical and wistful as it explores "the lonely nocturnal invitations of a stranger". Meanwhile, Forget Things is described as "an amnesiac's note to self"
It is all as quietly eccentric as a gigolo aunt but while the music is playful and gently unobtrusive it also creates an insidious air of unease.
Everything sounds familiar yet remains elusive with a sense of things not being in their right place. It's like entering a room you think you remember well only to discover that you don't recognise any of the furnishings or ornaments.
I would heartily recommend the experience to those willing to embrace a curious wonderland world where nothing is quite as it seems.
Hamilton Yarns website
|
