The Pillars Of Creation offer up a cautionary tale with a sparkling and brassy soundtrack.
THE SOUTHERN MUSIC MASSIF STRIKES AGAIN
No – not the photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope that depicts elephant trunks of interstellar gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula of the Serpens constellation, some 6,500–7,000 light-years from Earth….
This an another Pillars Of Creation, although no less an iconic feature of the Southern music massif; a bluesy Americana rootsy folky pop style band playing the classics within that genre & what ever happens to take their fancy. And should you fancy it, you can’t beat a bit of brass and within a few moments of the title track gliding into view led by an authentic crackle, with the title and hints at “the key to life” (eternity btw) we’ve been warmed and charmed by the quirky musings. You get the feeling that the gramophone has been cranked up and sounds are emerging from a horn with a cute dog cocking an ear as we swing through a lovely waltz timed four minutes
A chapel organ texture from Dean Legget adds a sobriety to the ideals of One Way Home as the six tracks of the old school ‘side one’ segue neatly to form a flowing experience. The reverie lifted by A Strange Kind Of Loving and its little upfront bassline and sword and sorcery lyric of “dark forces hiding, white horses riding“) in a marriage of Procol Harum shades of Blackmore/Dio-ness drama in the most unexpected of places.
A hint of The Final Cut Roger Waters-esque sing-speak delivery on Aide De Camp, especially with the military lyrical nuances topped with a crust of irony. Waves of nostalgia rising and falling before a sudden U turn into the underlying darkness and controlled musical charge of The Sea. A place where they’ve crafted a winding riff fully deserving of its swirling “da-da-da-da” accompaniment.
AND THEN SOME…
A fifteen minute Bluebird made up of several musical vignettes, invisibly stitched into a whole makes up most of ‘side two’. Inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck’s Nobel prize winning play (do your own Googling), it’s a fascinating composition. Don’t be caught looking out the window, the birdsong accompanying Sid Ozalid’s narration is on the recording and introduces the pursuit of the bluebird. A tumbling guitar line (in which that some might surely – and sadly – hear shades of U2), and an ode to the therapeutic qualities of the eponymous creature. Making way for a plethora of experimental parts make for dips into pulsing electronics, discordant guitar lines and an almost Psych/Prog vibe with the warning to “watch out for the cat!“
Rosana (daughter of lead singer Jim) Shepherd sings on the jaunty and rather splendid piano and acoustic picking The Kingdom Of The Future, kicking off a finale that’s packed with shimmering hooks and a handsome guitar solo with a foot in the retro camp. All Chelsea boots and guitars slung at chest height. “The bird is there…the bird flies to you” makes for a warming result. One that gets topped off by the encore, or little coda, of I Walk The Path. The latter serves as a final taste of a lovely album. ‘Lovely’ – might sound a little saccharine, but to coin a phrase they coin themselves in the toon, “I move along, slowly but surely.” Perfect Summery seasonal fare.
Here’s a taster – catch that slippery thing…:
The Pillars Of Creation: Facebook