A Different Aspect #95

As The Pineapple Thief draw near to the end of a U.S. tour, ten months after the outstanding It Leads to This they release Last to Run, drawn from the same sessions. Any notion these are just ‘left-overs’ are dismissed by the sheer quality of the material. Last to Run’ ranges between melancholic reflection in Election Day, and more direct emotional intensity in No Friend of Mine, which packs more invention and impact in 3 minutes 30 seconds than many rambling ‘epics’ ever achieve.

Last to Run features subtle percussion and powerful drumming from Gavin Harrison of King Crimson & Porcupine Tree fame – he really does seem to have found a spiritual and creative home in ‘The Thief’. Bruce Soord’s plaintive voice seeps into your soul and his unorthodox, textured guitar skills fascinate, particularly All Because of Me‘s adrenaline rush. Jon Sykes’ solid bass, with occasional flourishes, anchors the band, whilst Steve Kitch’s keyboards continue to exert ever more influence and ideas, particularly on the impactful No Friend of Mine and more subtle Election Day. The World to Me swaggers in anthemically, but The Thief avoid corny rock posturing with swathes of tasteful rich textures. Last to Run underlines that The Pineapple Thief continue on their upward trajectory, creating accessible but imaginative songs, dripping in emotion and shining with style.

Foxpalmer is the stage persona of Fern McNulty a singer/songwriter who can be found actively gigging around her home base in London, as well across the UK in various support slots, and it was at one of these support slots with The Blackheart Orchestra I caught her solo set. Due to a number of technical issues during the soundcheck (all resolved before the gig started) a somewhat fraught Foxpalmer took to the stage a little later than planned. However she was very quickly into her stride and soon engaged the audience with her infectious voice, crafted guitar play which was embellished, here and there, with ‘looper pedal’ parts. In a shortened set Fern delivered her songs with a heart-warming passion which prompted me to purchase this little gem of an EP afterwards.

The EP is a different beast to her solo performance as it features the Foxpalmer band. So what we have here are rockier, fuller arrangements of the songs performed on the night. The EP brings together previously released singles Alone, Wanted, Forever and the recently released, title track, That Way. Now I immediately recognised the songs from the concert, always a good sign, and happy to report that the studio versions compliment those stripped down versions whilst adding another dimension. All four tracks have catchy and memorable melodies, delivered by Fern’s endearing voice and richly enhanced with the sweetest of harmonies. The band are cooking across the EP, offering a contemporary blend of indie rock whilst adding an interesting Americana vibe to the proceedings.

Foxpalmer are currently working on their debut studio album DarkTides slated for release in 2025. Based on this EP it should be well worth investigating and I’m certainly looking forward to hearing it…

Twenty one years ago I came across the second album from KBB, a Japanese instrumental quartet fronted by violinist Akihisa Tsuboy. Since then Four Corner’s Sky, the band’s second album, has become one of my all-time favourite albums and the opening tune, Discontinuous Spiral, captures much of what excites me musically. Wonderful melodies, fiery instrumentation, odd metering, sometimes challenging but always played with passion by crafted musicians.

KBB would release four studio albums and a couple of live releases before coming to a halt in 2013. I continued to follow Akihisa Tsuboy’s musical career and again a number of side projects caught my attention, in particular acoustic duo Era which featured Akihisa Tsuboy on violin and Natsuki Kido on acoustic guitar.

Sadly the more digitally and globally connected the world has become the less it seems possible to access music from the Far East. So, I was delighted when I recently discovered that Akihisa Tsuboy now has a Bandcamp page. First purchase is the album under review here, released in 2021, Hitori​-​Tenka is Akihisa’s debut solo album and features ten tunes performed on violin using looping/effects processor.

Despite the perceived limits Akihisa produces an extremely full and varied sound which crosses numerous styles: progressive rock, fusion, classical, ambient, Celtic, along with folk reels and/or jigs thrown in for good measure. The video below features three track ‘edits’ from the album and nicely captures the varied nature of spirit of the music.

The tracks are: What’s Your Last Name, Please Give Me Some Water, Run Away Desperately While Laughing – love the third video clip 🙂

Appearing towards the end of 2023, As The Raven Flies, was the third album from Daniel Crommie in that year – equally matched in 2022, if we count the double Perihelion Chronicle / Journey to the Aphelion, as two albums. Impressive, in fact Daniel has released in excess of eighty solo, collaborative and ensemble releases during his 35+ year career… I first discovered him back in 2012 and have since heard most of his the releases, and reviewed half a dozen here on TPA.

One of those was the previous Daniel Crommie & Leslie Gray Two Of A Kind album released in early 2022. And an enjoyable album it is too and one I have returned to many times when the mood has taken me. As The Raven Flies is a natural successor which builds nicely on the framework set out previously. The music is distinctly unhurried, floaty, ambient and full of atmospheric and textural soundscapes.

Once again multi-instrumentalist Daniel has created his trademark hypnotic rhythms that are the foundation for the tracks, to which he adds layers of attractive melodies that glide effortless across the percussive landscape. As on the previous album Leslie Gray weaves her magical strings (violin, viola, and cello this time around) which combined with Daniel’s flutes form a captivating and charming melange.

As The Raven Flies is the ideal choice for late night listening…

Hailing from Venezuela and now resident in the USA, Felix Martin is one of the ever growing generation of musicians hell bent on pushing the boundaries of their chosen instrument. In the case of Felix, self designed 12, 14 & 16-string guitars and 10-string FM basses!

Joining him on The Gathering, his fourth full-length album, are bassist Joan Torres and Nic Kubes on kit. Across the ten track album the trio ‘tap’ and ‘hammer’ their way through an eclectic mix of concise Metal, Latin and Jazz/Fusion instrumentals, although the music is not afraid to bring in the odd curve-ball as we first discover on the album opener Gatherpiece where medieval melodies are the inspiration (video below). Fatechanger on the other hand brings Latin flavours to the forefront with a nod to Al Di Meola, whereas Louderbit takes its cues from “anime and J-pop music”.

The Gathering is a fairly intense listen, but not without its quieter, more subtle moments, albeit in the same piece. With ever shifting metrics and more notes per track than most artist use on an entire album, The Gathering is challenging but engaging at the same time. It certainly rewards multiple listens. A nice discovery…