- Label: 'Think Like A Key Music'
- Genre: 'Indie'
- Release Date: '3.4.26.'- Catalogue No: 'TLAK1230'
Our Rating:
There's Still Time is the latest album by Alan Clayson who I will try not to confuse with Alan Clayton, who I regularly review with The Dirty Strangers and The Brian James Gang. Alan Clayson is more a writer of sagas and a psychic adventurer, along with replacing Jason as leader of The Argonauts, appearing as one of Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages and much more besides. The album was produced by Paul Critchfield at Blue Rocket Studios in Reading and also features Pete Cox and John Harries.
The album opens with Behind The Sun that has heavy organs and a narrated vocal starting to tell the tale of the lord of misrule and yonder children Behind The Sun, who keeps changing the subject as the chimes add to the foreboding and musical unease.
Clickety-Clack seems to marry a fairground organ to lyrics that re-imagine Chris Spedding's Click Clack into a whole other world, on the other side of the prism by the banks of the Galilee. The Legion Of The Lost has a 16th century sensibility for what happens to the poor sods who are doomed to be in the Legion Of The Lost, the keyboards sound like either a Clavinet or Virginal.
Underpass is medieval chamber pop oddness for the joys of that Underpass that has cast its spell over Alan and he celebrates his wonderment.
Martian Afternoon (Hymn For A Lost Planet) does indeed sound like a hymn complete with backing choir and church organ for an endless afternoon on the plains of Mars, the exile may never end but this song will certainly befuddle some listeners who sway along with it.
Jack Cade is a retelling of the tale of Jack Cade's Kentish uprising in 1450 set to some rather fleet organ playing on this epic song.
KX 54 WVL is the number plate of his car and this single is just what happened to bring about that particular vehicles demise, it certainly wasn't a Gold Cortina, this is sad and forlorn memories of a car he wishes was still a runner, with the oddly timed keyboards adding to the feelings of sadness as it goes to the wrecking yard.
Nemesis (The With-it Vicar) a man of the cloth who unsettles Alan and he tries to be hipper than thou, while still spouting theological philosophy, that could still cause Valhalla to go up in flames in this weird world Alan has created. Something Happened to make me feel this could be a pop song if played on a Nord keyboard rather than the organ and strings of this rather bucolic adventure.
Craig And Rachel is a slow piano and interference narration of the events that did for Craig And Rachel on that New Jersey freeway. Grandmothers Wedding Day has a classical grandeur to this tale of various rhapsodies that accompanied the happy day.
There Were Moments When.. sounds like a sparse demo, with tape hiss and a gentle piano part, that has strings added to it like he got Gus Dudgeon in to produce it. Dust Devils has an Elizabethan prog weirdness among the organ fills, for what those dust devils get up to on hot summer days, while sounding like the backing to a dark sci-fi adventure film. The album closes with Wood Pigeon a slow piano piece of praise for that Wood Pigeon that has transfixed him so totally.
Find Out more at https://www.thinklikeakey.com/format/1891125-theres-still-time???https://alanclayson.com/ https://alanclayson.bandcamp.com/album/theres-still-time https://www.facebook.com/alan.clayson.7
