Special Powers sees the first album of new songs by Craig Fortnam’s chamber pop ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra since 2016’s Dronne, and as such this is an event of some note, certainly highly anticipated by this listener. In the intervening period Craig has dealt with life’s travails by keeping very busy indeed, with numerous releases under his own name, and as Arch Garrison, who is more of a metaphorical twin than an alter ego. Of course, we cannot forget the simply delightful NSRO release Folly Bololey: Songs From Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom.
But all that is part of Mr. Fortnam’s back catalogue, for now it is time for a new NSRO album. I mentioned my eager anticipation, which from any perspective, let alone a reviewer’s, can be a burden and place too much expectation on the new music. I need not have worried, for from the hushed opening bars of Mansions In Eternity, a delightful chamber classical work unfolds before us, and this listener is instantly swept up in its subtly insistent but quiet drama. This gorgeous instrumental is named from a letter William Blake wrote to his engraver, commiserating him on a bereavement.
The second song, a signature jaunty chamber pop tune in the recognizable NSRO style, is not many nautical miles from a sea shanty in feel. Musing on disconnection and alienation, Hearty’s sad sociopath is at odds with its bouncy melody.
Many writers have alluded to NSRO’s “Englishness”, and while that is undeniable, it is also utterly charming. All Alice Alike is an English folk waltz with an almost bluesy acoustic guitar intro, Chantelle Pike’s voice leading the way, and showing that she is a fine replacement for Sharron Fortnam, Craig’s former wife, who is now forging her own path with the wonderfully quirky Kugelschreiber.
The title track is one of those timeless modern-medieval folk songs that NSRO do so well, that metamorphoses into a beautiful soaring instrumental just over halfway in, like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. Full Human revisits alienation, with an air of reverent melancholy, the strings and woodwind combining in sombre but fulsome fashion.
The album closes with The Players Ask For A Blessing On The Psalteries And On Themselves, a W. B. Yeats poem set to music, asking for acknowledgement of the lowly musician, that then transforms into a chamber prog instrumental of epic intent, the swell of keyboards and synths melding with the strings and woodwind, thus caressing the listener in a warm musical saline tank of mild sensory overload. Reprising earlier melodies, and with an air of semi-improvisation, this long instrumental ending is thoroughly captivating. A line is traced back to Cardiacs’ epic song structures, and the works of the well-known minimalists in the way it builds and builds, before fading away with an effortless grace.
The multi-layered instrumental sections, and the deftly constructed songs on this record ensures it will bear repeated listens, as something new will reveal itself on each play. At just under 37 minutes long, I wish there was more of it, but then it is only just shy of 40 minutes, the ideal vinyl album length, so you can’t have everything!
The PR sheet signs off with “beautiful//ancient//modern//unique”, and that’s as good a summary of Special Powers and North Sea Radio Orchestra as anything I could come up with. This is a special band occupying a unique place in the musical firmament, and I cannot recommend Special Powers highly enough.
TRACK LISTING
01. Mansions In Eternity (7:52)
02. Hearty (2:56)
03. Barrel (1:19)
04. All Alice Like (6:47)
05. Special Powers (4:46)
06. Full Human (4:28)
07. Guitar Miniature No.5 (0:47)
08. The Players Ask For A Blessing On The Psalteries And On Themselves (8:42)
Total Time – 36:57
MUSICIANS
Nicola Baigent – Bb & Bass Clarinets, Flute
Luke Crookes – Bassoon
Harry Escott – Cello
Craig Fortnam – Vocals. Guitars, Bass, Piano, Organ, Synth, Percussion
James Larcombe: – Piano, Various Keyboards, Hurdy Gurdy
Chantelle Pike – Vocals
Brian Wright – Violin, Viola
~ With:
Chlöe Herington – Recorder
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Independent
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 30th May 2025
LINKS
North Sea Radio Orchestra – Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube
