Paul Sadler – The Irrational

A preoccupation with matters of life and death – and particularly the latter – has been a recurring theme throughout Paul Sadler’s output, inspiring highly original, dramatic and deeply felt music in a variety of genres. He first became known as the powerhouse behind progressive metal band Spires, and in 2020 released his first solo album, Soon to be Absorbed. In 2022 Paul joined forces with Andreas Hack, from the German band Frequency Drift, to form Haven of Echoes, whose hauntingly atmospheric album Memento Vivere was one of my favourites from last year’s releases. In his latest offering, The Irrational, Paul explores yet another facet of his musical personality in a fully acoustic EP.

All four tracks feature Paul on vocals and acoustic guitar, perfectly complimented by the warmly expressive playing of Imogen Lyons (violin) and Alison Lansdown (cello). The first two songs also feature glorious harmonies from male and female backing vocals, and sensitive rhythmic support from fretless bass, drums and percussion.

The lyrics pose intriguing philosophical questions about our complex and often contradictory relationship with ourselves, the natural world and our own mortality. The song structures are relatively simple, drawing upon elements from the folk tradition, popular music and the classical art song. They are linked stylistically by Paul’s facility for crafting glorious, soaring melodies that often wander daringly far from home yet somehow manage to sound graceful, natural and inevitable. The acoustic format brings a sense of immediacy, with the harmonic interest provided by interweaving layers of melody rather than by more vertical, chordal harmony. This creates a delightful sense of flow and spontaneity. Paul’s vocals are rich and beseeching, with an emotional delivery that perfectly expresses each nuance of the lyrics.

The Stowaway: To me the ‘stowaway’ in the title suggests Jung’s concept of the shadow – the darker part of our personality that we often attempt to deny – and the importance of reconciling ourselves with this repressed part of ourselves in order to become fully whole.

The arresting opening section features impassioned male and female vocals, challenged by incisively stabbing strings, portraying the violent and counterintuitive imagery of the lyrics: “I burn in the river and drown in the fire”. In response to a lyrical reference to ‘stories written in the water as it flows’, the addition of intricate hand drum rhythms, fretless bass and gently rippling acoustic guitar creates a more relaxed, lilting effect. There is a beautifully luminous passage near the end, once more inspired by a reference to flowing water, where instrumentals and wordless male and female voices interweave ecstatically, immediately opposed by the darker, more menacing tones of bass, guitar and cello in their lower registers. At the close of the track, as the stowaway is finally assimilated, the musical tension resolves as the texture is reduced to solo vocals and a serene violin solo dissolving like birdsong on the summer air.

If the music of The Stowaway contrasts light and shadow, A Song of Everything and Nothing is characterised by the deliberate alternation of major and minor tonality – a typical feature of Paul’s compositions which evokes a sense of bittersweet and unfulfilled yearning. According to Paul, the lyrics describe “how we anthropomorphise the world around us, imagining the perceived beauty as somehow a living entity, when in reality the universe cares not a bit for us”. The addition of keyboards, provided by Andreas Hack, brings both lushness and delicacy to the sonic palette. Solo piano opens the proceedings, introducing a mournfully tolling four-chord sequence that underpins the first part of the song. The instrumental texture gradually builds as the lyrics describe the tension between our desire for a more meaningful relationship with the world around us and our awareness of its indifference. At the words “and though the world cannot reciprocate your love” the constraining regularity of the chord sequence gives way to a rhapsodically rippling piano figure, bringing a sensuality and spontaneity that develops into a wild and carefree instrumental waltz. After a brief return to the sombre and restrained colours of the opening, the piano bursts into exhilarating cascades of sound while harmony vocals issue an ecstatic invitation: “Give in to folly. Give in to your senseless senses and dance the silence away”. The song ends, appropriately, with a brief reprise of the exuberant waltz theme. Since the universe doesn’t care what we think, we might as well abandon reason, give in to our senses and enjoy its beauty.

The third track, A Passing, is inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s macabre poem “Une Charonge” (A Carcass). Paul’s version is somewhat less stomach-churning than Baudelaire’s, but follows a similar device of exploring the theme of death and decay within the guise of a love song. The lyrical imagery is both beautiful and horrifying, while the music is simultaneously warmly romantic and deliciously creepy, perfectly embodying this incongruity between style and substance. A chromatically twisted guitar figure creates an unsettling and sinister atmosphere, but the sensuously lilting vocal melody sounds more like a charmingly romantic waltz and Paul’s vocals are deliciously seductive. The mood grows darker as the lyrics describe the burden of life, and ‘how we are bound to our toil’, and there is a moment of portentous melodrama when Paul switches from sung to spoken delivery. However, the ultimate message, encouraging us to look forward to death and the freedom it brings, seems counter-intuitively positive.

The lyrics In the final track, Irrational revisit the theme of our relationship with nature, asking if it is rational or foolish for our emotions to be influenced by the progress of the seasons. A wistful guitar figure and sighs of yearning from the strings create a nostalgic atmosphere. Each verse opens with a warmly indolent violin melody and honey-sweet vocals suggesting the hazy memories of sunny summer days. As the music progresses the mood gradually darkens, reaching a tensely climactic close with dark and anguished vocal tones and harshly dissonant instrumentals. In the rhapsodic coda Paul’s wordless vocalisations join with the solo strings, soaring and spiralling like swallows at the end of summer, and the track ends as nostalgically as it began, finally settling on a warmly optimistic major chord. However irrational it may seem, our lives and emotions are inextricably linked to the changing patterns of nature and the endless cycle of life and death.

This all-too-brief EP delivers a rich blend of inspired melody, emotive harmonies and exquisitely sensitive musicianship. The instrumental writing is masterly, and each performer brings an extraordinary range of colour and expression to the feast. Paul Sadler’s vocals and guitar playing present a masterclass in conveying drama and emotion without ever sacrificing beauty of tone. This is a stunning release that yields more musical treasures with each successive listen, and a triumphant addition to Paul Sadler’s musical catalogue.

TRACK LISTING
01. The Stowaway (6:54)
02. A Song Of Everything And Nothing (5.36)
03. A Passing (5:44)
04. Irrational (4.59)

Total Time – 23:13

MUSICIANS
Paul Sadler – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Alison Lansdown – Cello
Imogen Lyons – Violin
~ With:
Alex Jolley – Fretless Bass (1 & 2)
John Simm – Drums, Percussion (1 & 2)
Emily Mercer – Backing Vocals (2)
Helea Gimeno – Backing Vocals (1)
Andrew Lavendar – Backing Vocals (1)
Andreas Hack – Keyboards (2)

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Independent
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 7^th February 2025

LINKS
Paul Sadler – Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram