Perfection on a summer’s afternoon!  Lost Maps & Long Barrows – the new album from Shipwreck Orchestra – aka multi-instrumentalist Aaron Miller (and friends) – blends prog and folk influences with orchestral ambition to create sounds that are truly unique and thoroughly satisfying.

Release Date:  11^th July 2025

Label: Self Release

Format:  Digital

SUN-LOUNGER LISTENING…

It’s a memory that I’ll savour throughout the coming cold, dark winter months.  And, if you’re also the kind of person that enjoys being transported by pure, melodic, impeccably produced and performed music that takes all the time it needs to make its point and reach its conclusion, then Lost Maps & Long Barrows – the new album from Shipwreck Orchestra – may be the very thing for you.  But get in quickly; Lost Maps & Long Barrows is one of those albums that really hits the spot when it’s listened to from a sun-lounger on a hot sunny summer’s afternoon – and there might not be many more of those left this year…

Shipwreck Orchestra is the vehicle that allows Aaron Miller – classically-trained multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer and luthier to express himself.  And he does so in the form of musical voyages that twist and turn unpredictably and blend progressive rock and folk influences with sweeping orchestral ambitions.  Along the way, he brushes the fringes of introspective 1970s psyche-folk and his product is truly unique and thoroughly satisfying.

ROLL OVER MIKE OLDFIELD

In Aaron’s own words, Lost Maps & Long Barrows “… reflects on the persistence of inner landscapes – the paths we return to, the landmarks we inherit and the ways sound ties us to place.  Across its tracks, delicate acoustic textures merge with orchestral influences, moving between quiet pastoral passages and stormier, more dramatic moments.”  That’s a fair description of what Lost Maps & Long Barrows has to offer and, if it doesn’t hang together too well right now, I guarantee that it will resonate once you’ve heard the album.

For Lost Maps & Long Barrows, Aaron plays: electric, acoustic and bass guitars., double bass, piano & keyboards, trumpet, hurdy gurdy, mandolin, mandola, concertina, hammered dulcimer and percussion.  Roll over, Mike Oldfield!  And he’s helped out by a few friends, too: Moulettes Hannah Miller, Mikey Simmonds and Sam Dorrell provide sustenance on, respectively, cello, violin, viola & nyckelharpa and trombone & euphonium, and sometime Nick Cave and Lara Marling sidesperson Emma Gatrill contributes harp.  That’s a lot of instrumentation and, on Lost Maps & Long Barrows, it’s a lineup that’s used to devastating effect.

TRANCELIKE EUPHORIA

Pastoral sounds trigger the glorious, slow build-in of Strands of Green Wood, the album’s opening passage.  Piano, strings and soft percussion come in gradually to reflect the dawning of a warm summer’s day and the listener is lulled into the euphoric, trancelike state that, if the listening conditions are right (see above) will last for the entire album.

A touch of drama is introduced for Tiny Magnetite, as piano and guitar lay down a prog-jazz theme to a gently-tapped rhythm accompaniment.  The woodwind effects recall a few of Genesis’ more pastoral explorations and, if – as Aaron suggests – there’s a story behind the melody, it’s a story that suggests that – right now – all may not be well…  And, that sense of mild foreboding persists for the dreamy Gathering & Unraveling.  Piano and fingerpicked acoustic guitar take centre-stage, whilst strings gather in the background and the pattering drum rhythm persists as the sound grows, slowly but satisfyingly.

SLOW-BUILDING AND SATISFYING

The state of blissful contentment is restored by The Knot, a short, pleasant passage, before a bass-slide introduces Thirteen, another well-worked, thoughtful piece of music.  Aaron uses all the space available to him to set out a detailed, airy, tune that, once again, builds satisfyingly and oh-so-slowly.  Brass rises slowly to the surface as the drum sound picks up and the – theme, the story, or whatever – is on the march and building in momentum.

Aaron’s pensive piano and soft strains of electric guitar evoke a calm sea setting for the opening section of Fleet Under Moonlight.  Trumpets seem to scan the horizon and report “All is well” back to the vessel’s skipper but, as the music builds that sense of security starts to waver until, at around 4:20, the waves rise up and the feeling grows that – maybe – there could be danger ahead…

A GRAND STATEMENT

Bird song effects and melodic electric guitar carry things forward through Birds, another short passage, before Aaron picks out a pleasant melody on his hammered dulcimer for The Copper Palace.  The soothing strains of the dulcimer contrast markedly with the urgency of the drumbeat and the gathering orchestration and the combined effect is an absorbing, widescreen, affair with dramatic undertones – the sort of music that would work well as a movie theme, in fact.

Possibly the centrepiece to the whole album, Optimal is another tune that takes all the time it needs to unfold into full bloom.  Aaron uses just about every instrument at his disposal for this one, and he uses them well and wisely.  There are several themes at work and they combine smoothly into something that definitely exceeds the component parts – a grand statement.

MUSIC TO GRACE A DRAWING ROOM

A jazzy calm is restored for The Herald, as soft drums explore dreamland and the trumpet reaches out for something only slightly higher, and that calm is retained for the wonderful Sweet Track – a tune named in honour of the Leamington Spa studio where Lost Maps & Long Barrows was recorded.  Hannah Miller’s cello is a delight as it underpins Aaron’s piano and, when the rest of the strings – and Aaron’s electric guitar – join in, the resulting sound would grace any civilized drawing room, anywhere and in any era.

Strings and brass both make their presence felt in The Mill & The Maple, a warming blend of jazz and classical influences.  The plucked strings nudge the mood in a classical direction whilst soothing trumpets inch the feel gently jazz-wards in another absorbing piece of music.

THE PAYOFF

And – finally – the payoff.  The sounds that introduce Rolling Sea, the album’s epic closing track, are truly atmospheric – and slightly ominous – as our ship sets sail once again.  The waters are calm to start with but, for this voyage, the omens all suggest a rougher time ahead.  Bass and piano rise and fall with the ocean’s swell, whilst, once again, the trumpets scan the horizon for danger.  Eventually, the strings arrive to indicate that we’re through the worst of it and that land will soon be in sight.  But – right at the very close – is that a storm about to hit??  We’ll never know…

Lost Maps & Long Barrows is a wonderful album; an album with which to spend time, to get to know and to get lost in.  Come and get it while the weather’s hot!

Listen to Optimal – the album’s epic centrepiece track – below:

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