(Endearing Records - www.endearing.com) [Genres: spoken word with music, poetry]
This is a collaborative album between spoken word artist/poet Clive
Holden, Jason Tait (the Weakerthans' percussionist), John K. Samson (the Weakerthans'
guitarist), and Christine Fellows. Many of the pieces are serene and calm, far from
the signature Weakerthans sound. Other pieces are dark and comprised of spoken word
elements against a sound effect-based backing. The poetry itself is often sad and
spooky. Holden speaks of many things: death, his own birthplace, the wind, and lots
more. Some parts of this album are just overwhelming, some parts are shocking, and
some parts are lighter and more like ballads. A large element of the greatness of
this release is the excellent quality of Holden's actual poetry. The words and his
voice merge perfectly, his speeches are detached and awkward, yet also seem to fit
perfectly. Even when they are used in conjunction with the song-like parts if this
album, they seem to work perfectly, without any conflict between the voice and the
instruments. Of course, it takes a bit of time to get used to this type of stuff at
first, but after you've gotten used to it, this can be a real pleasure to listen to.
Recommended.
This is a collaborative album between spoken word artist/poet Clive
Holden, Jason Tait (the Weakerthans' percussionist), John K. Samson (the Weakerthans'
guitarist), and Christine Fellows. Many of the pieces are serene and calm, far from
the signature Weakerthans sound. Other pieces are dark and comprised of spoken word
elements against a sound effect-based backing. The poetry itself is often sad and
spooky. Holden speaks of many things: death, his own birthplace, the wind, and lots
more. Some parts of this album are just overwhelming, some parts are shocking, and
some parts are lighter and more like ballads. A large element of the greatness of
this release is the excellent quality of Holden's actual poetry. The words and his
voice merge perfectly, his speeches are detached and awkward, yet also seem to fit
perfectly. Even when they are used in conjunction with the song-like parts if this
album, they seem to work perfectly, without any conflict between the voice and the
instruments. Of course, it takes a bit of time to get used to this type of stuff at
first, but after you've gotten used to it, this can be a real pleasure to listen to.
Recommended.