Thoughts are strange things. They come and go. Sometimes, they thrust themselves upon us; at others, they sneak up unnoticed and surprise us. They are always there, even if we are unaware of them. When one thought ends and another begins it’s impossible to tell. Nor are they necessarily connected. Kazuo Ishiguro calls this ‘tangential meandering’. We weave this constantly flowing mosaic of disparate thoughts into stories that slowly but surely shape the meaning of our lives.
Tangential meanderings is the perfect description of the Sloane Square Band’s second studio album, Thoughts. It’s not a concept album. There’s no overarching, unified narrative being told. Instead, we have a delightfully creative musical eloquence sifting through the fragments and observations which make up a life and offering the most captivating melodic, symphonic responses grappling with what it all might mean.
The opening title track, Thoughts (Track 1), is a sumptuous, seductive, slow-burning invitation to the journey ahead. It speaks of the dreams, the hopes, and the joys that inspire and motivate us, battered, bruised, and abused by what we see going on in the world around us. It chips away at us, erodes our strength, and undermines our sense of security and well-being until we reach a point of near despair and an aching cry: “Leave me alone on an island / Watching the sky and the ocean / Starting out where I began.”
The swelling musical symphony explodes into a majestic guitar solo which soars in its yearning to leave the harshness of the world behind; an orchestral layering sweeps over to carry us to the promised land in which we once believed: “Leave me alone on an island / Watching the sky and the ocean / Where I’m free, where I’m strong / In a place where I belong”. The heartfelt desire is painfully clear: a plea to be able to return to a time and a place of peace, innocence and happiness before life became so messy, so gritty, so….spoiled. In the end, the music fizzles away on a harmonic breeze as the dream dissipates and disappears.
The mood changes. A new thought emerges. Love. The oddness of love (Odd Love, Track 2). The insecurities of love. Love’s youthfulness and spontaneity blunted and dulled, “Years made routine, the king”. Guy Pratt’s blistering bass weaves a mesmerising spell over the memory. Exuberant, confident surprise: “I’m not the man I used to be / Who’s this guy looking back at me / In the middle of crazy love.” Despite self-consciousness, despite the uncertainties – suddenly there you are.” The joyful vocals carry you away on a surging current of thrill and excitable delight.
The mood changes again. Anger. Fury. Discord. Fishes (Track 3). Thoughts churning in utter disgust at the state of our rivers, full of toxic shit. “What have we done / Our earth is gone I / Want to fly away.” Echoes here of where we started: the yearning for something better. Surely, there must be something better? The drumming is insistent, and the guitar work is frenzied. Money, profit, and greed trump the things which matter most. “Our earth is gone / The river flows / Fishes are dead / A dark wind blows / This is the end.” And yet, we barely seem to care. An abject guitar solo squeals, dejected, the heat of anger and resentment slowly exhausting itself.
Another thought. My Father (Track 5). Fond, treasured memories of happy times, a refined ode to an absence still as present and vibrant as if he never left. They are still with us, every day, living in our hearts, alive deep down in the places which matter most. Nostalgia is never far away. Jane (Track 9) revisits the tenderness of love, the affection kindled and rekindled by memories of happy times and associations with meaningful places and spaces where love roamed, blossomed and revelled in each other. “I will never forget Les Champs Elysées / With you / I will never forget Saint Germain des Prés / With you.”
Hiroshima (Track 6) brings something different to mind. A ballad, as deftly magnificent in its memory of what took place as it is mournful of the reality of the moment itself. “Haunting sounds… Of darkness / From the ashes…. The silence / Let it be… Hiroshima / Hiroshima / Hiroshima.” Echoing the lyrics “Like the voice of a child / Rise from the ruins”, an arresting female vocal pierces the silence, echoed by the guitar, the two intertwining, playing off each other, responding to each other. “Out the ruins / A spirit emerged / A plea to the world / But no one listens.” Echoes of Fishes return.
All these thoughts flit and dance from one thing to the next, at first glance seeming to be unrelated, unconnected. Yet behind it all is a profoundly meaningful, musically moving and beautifully expressive eloquence. Like the fragments and memories which make up a life, this album is an exquisitely crafted mosaic of brilliantly observed moments which find moving connections in the fluidity of notes, the passion of the vocals, the finesse of the lyrics and the creativity of the musicianship.
When moment is placed next to moment, thought against thought, fragment in proximity to fragment, something glorious emerges to reveal a story full of insight, delicacy and elegance. Thoughts is the album which enables that musical story but leaves the listener to piece together their own resonances born from personal memories, moments and experiences. Tangential meanderings have never sounded quite so captivating.
TRACK LISTING
01. Thoughts (5:32)
02. Odd Love (4:06)
03. Born (5:01)
04. Fishes (4:31)
05. My Father (3:37)
06. Hiroshima (5:53)
07. I Will Never (5:17)
08. Bag Of Lies (4:46)
09. Jane (4:43)
Total Time – 44:03
MUSICIANS
Claude Segalin – Guitars, Vocals
Richard Groulx – Vocals
Stéphane Honde – Guitars
Alix Gugliemi – Bass (4)
Gérard Thouret – Keyboards
Eric Lebailly – Drums
Leina Vinx – Flute, Vocals
~ With:
Guy Pratt – Bass (1-3 & 5-9)
Joniece Jamison – Vocals
Orchestre National d’Avignon Provence (ONAP) – Violins
Veronique Bourgue-Ragu – Violin
Marc Aidinian – Violin
Juliette Nougue – Violin
Deborah Lasserre – Violin
Corinne Puel – Violin
Michel Tiertant – Viola
Isabelle Cordier – Cello
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: FTF Music
Formats: Digipak, Download, Streaming
Country of Origin: France
Date of Release: 21st June 2024
LINKS
Sloane Square Band – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube