The phrase that runs around in my head is ‘rock ’n’roll chamber music’. What would seem to be a cycle of love letters is delivered in a plaintive half whisper with moments of decidedly Lou Reed phrasing.
Treated spiky acoustic guitars provide a faux-harpsichord, percussive underpinning for sweeping – and probably synthetic – strings that not only build to dramatic effect over and under the voice, but also launch into long and interwoven instrumental passages that can trace their line all the way back to John Cale and the Velvets, but with far more experience and control.
About halfway through the CD, a bizarre thought struck me – which may get me mocked or fired. Could this be what Buddy Holly might have done if he’d lived to take his obsession with strings in rock’n’roll to it’s ultimate conclusion. Weird idea? And also very ancient history? Maybe, but it’s meant as a compliment.
I really like this, and I’m not sure why.
