5 ...according to our Clinton on 07 November 2009.
couldn't agree more with brian on this one. been a long time fan of crowley but he's really outdone himself this time. just give it a couple of spins and let the heavenly melodies burst through!
5 ...according to our Brian on 05 November 2009.
Another voice I think I could not exist happily without is old Irish bard Adrian Crowley. Chemikal Underground must've been waiting years to sign him as he's trundled along from label to label, usually leaving them the happy recipient of an album's worth of wonderfully melancholy musings. 'Season of the Sparks' initially shares something in spirit with Sheffield crooner Richard Hawley, except Adrian's much less end-of-pier seaside town 50's throwback & more Leonard Cohen spine-melter. There's some gorgeous strings & atmospheric near-drone on my favorite track 'The Beekeeper's Wife' - all topped with his effortless, velvety yearning voice that will always move me as long as I live. I think he's fleshing some of his songs out a bit more these days and there's a couple of tracks when it all sounds a bit more commercial/radio friendly than you'd care for, but then you realise you've only been half listening so you adjust your ears to concentrate more, and delve happily right back in to his tender, majestical world view & reassuring sonic folk stew. I think he's the nearest thing we've got to Bill Callahan, his voice surely made to mingle with these shimmering, spectral guitarscapes like on 'Squeeze Bees' He's got a bee obsession here hasn't he? When all seems dirt, Crowley is the diamond that forever shines through. Absolutely essential.
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Sound clips for Season of the Sparks by Adrian Crowley: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Chemikal Underground, CHEM124CD, £10.09.
Follow up to 2007 Irish Choice Music Prize nominated album ‘The Long Distance Swimmer’.
Adrian Crowley’s fifth studio album since his 1999 debut ‘A Strange Kind’.
Crowley, an honorary affiliate of the Fence Collective in Fife, has recently collaborated with James Yorkston, covering Daniel Johnston songs.
The album includes a cover of Ivor Cutler’s ‘Squeeze Bees’.
Tracklisting:
Summer Haze Parade * The Beekeeper’s Wife * The Wishing Seat * The Three Sisters * Squeeze Bees * Liberty Stream * Horses Like To Dream All Night * Season Of The Sparks * Swedish Room * Pay No Mind (To The Dawn Cryer)
