Tim Bowness: Late Night Laments (Inside Out Music) [Paul Scoble]
Tim Bowness has been making music since the early nineties. He is best known as Vocalist and Co-writer for the band No-Man, a collaboration with Steve Wilson. Late Night Laments is his sixth solo album, Tim’s first solo album came out in 2004, solo albums 2 - 6 have all been made since 2014. The style on offer on Late Night Laments is described by the album title. The album is a collection of soft, lilting and very minimal and intimate songs. This is mellow and reflective singer / songwriter style that uses minimalist electronica and acoustic soundscapes. In all the tracks the music is quite low in the mix, with Bowness’s vocals being highest in the mix. This would be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that Tim Bowness has a stunning voice, and he gives great performances on every track. The album opens with Northern Rain, minimalist electronica and Tim’s voice at a relaxed tempo. The percussion is subtle and the whole track has a feeling that is reflective and up-lifting. I’m Better Now, again has a very subtle and understated feel to it.
The song has a great chorus that after a few listens you just have to sing along with. There is a similarity between the electronica based songs on this album and some of David Bowie’s electronic material, it reminds me of the less aggressive tracks on Earthling. Darkline is a mix of the soft and lilting electronic sound and a more purposeful and driving sound. The track vacillates between the 2 different feels. We Caught The Light has a more positive and uplifting quality to the songs that came before it. The track features backing vocals in addition to Tim Bowness’s vocals, as well as some bell-like instrument. This track has a positivity that reminds me a little of Devin Townsend, but without the wackiness. The Hitman Who Missed is soft and reflective, at the start of the song it is just piano and vocals. As the track progresses more electronic elements are added before the song has a very mellow and soft ending. Never A Place features a soft piano and (what sounds like a) Mellotron. The song gets more speed and drive as it moves along, and in the second half of the song has some very interesting percussion. The Last Getaway has a bit of a glitchy feel to the percussion. It reminds me of Aphex Twin, but only Aphex Twin’s most minimal and atmospheric tracks. Hidden Life is very soft and ballad like. It features electric piano, very subtle percussion and vocals that are soft and mellow.
The album comes to an end with the song One Last Call. As with most of the rest of this album it’s very soft and minimalist, the track has a double bass on it which gives it a slight jazz feeling, and is dreamlike and ethereal. The track slowly drifts to a very satisfying end. As with most singer / songwriter material, this album rests on great tunes and effective songwriting. The style is minimal, and it takes a little time to get into; but it’s worth it, if you give this album some time, the tunes get into your head and the album really starts to fly. This album also relies on Tim Bowness’s voice, with it being very high in the mix if his vocal melodies weren’t spot on, or if he didn’t have lots of personality in his voice this album would have been painful. Yes, it’s minimal, but if you give it some time, the album will flourish and you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it. 8/10
Hinayana: Death Of The Cosmic EP (Napalm Records) [Rich Oliver]Hinayana are a band I have seen get quite a few mentions and from people whose musical tastes I really trust so they have ended up on my ever growing and never shrinking list of bands to check out one day when I get a chance. Thankfully though with their new release landing in my inbox I now have the perfect chance to check out this band and see what the fuss is about. Death Of The Cosmic is the new EP from the Texan band and their style can be categorised as melodic death doom metal. There are a lot of bands who perform this sub-genre of metal and a lot of them are bands that I am a very big fan of and whilst Hinayana don’t really do anything different what they do is write and perform this genre startlingly well. They manage to balance both the heavy and melodic aspects of their sound perfectly with songs that are very metal yet very delicate with wonderful melodies which really embrace the melancholic nature of the music.
The Hawkins: Silence Is A Bomb (The Sign Records) [Stuart Blythe]
The Hawkins second record is certainly something of a statement of intent “This is the best thing you’ll ever hear” sings lead vocalist Johannes Carlsson on the track Cut Moon Bleeds. The band even go so far as exclaiming that they are the result of some mad science experiment, crossing Queen with nitroglycerine. I can’t say I agree with their bold stance, but I certainly admire their attitude. I wish I could be that optimistic about myself when I look in the mirror! So, Silence Is A Bomb, what are we looking at here then? Imagine if you will a band skirting round the edges of The Hives, Weezer and fellow Scandinavians the, long forgotten Span and you’ll get a basic idea. Pop Punk, (just a little bit heavier than) Indie Rock infused with the swagger you’d expect of a band who think of Queen as the first point of comparison when describing themselves.Stryper: Even The Devil Believes (Frontiers Music) [Paul Hutchings]
If there is a god then he or she certainly has a strong sense of humour. Here we are again, two years since God Damn Evil and those stalwarts of the Christian faith are back with their millionth album. I was incredibly scathing about their last album and I’m afraid that nothing much has changed. I still find Michael Sweet’s vocals like nails down the blackboard, the glorying of a non-existent deity still ridiculous, and the saccharine flavoured harmonies horrible. I gave this album more time than it should have had, in the hope that I could ignore the lyrical themes and focus on the music, because the band can play. Recorded during the pandemic, this is the first Stryper album to feature Perry Richardson (Firehousse) on bass and background vocals. Sweet believes it is relevant, with a message pertinent to the times we are living in.