Epic 45
Weathering

5
...according to our Phil on 24 March 2011.

I was going to try and write this review without shoe-horning the word pastoral in, just as a bit of a challenge. I've given up pretty quickly as you can see. It's like talking about the Second World War and not mentioning Hitler. You can't do it. Oh and I'm reasonably sure Epic 45 and Hitler have no connections before you try and detect one and accuse them of being a bit dodgy. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the their brand new CD 'Weathering' is sat here all bright and sparkly looking at me. And an epic journey it is I'll tell you that! I've been enjoying this in my car over the last week and it works best at the sun's going down. Suddenly the music comes into its own and you're transported to a place of special. I think this is the bands most cohesive album and also possibly their most adventurous and accomplished. There are tracks on this album which do the Hood and Talk Talk thing (and Sigur Ros at moments) which you'd kind of expect but there's other gems to be found within! For Example 'With Our backs To The City' featuring Stephen Jones (Baby Bird!) on vocals. It's a diamond of a pop tune and by far my favourite one on the album. It just totally works.

Mid-way through the album you get a weird experimental dark ambient number which splits the album up neatly into two halves. I love it, very different for them. The album is rammed full of inventive and interesting ideas, songs are super layered with so many things going on, yet nothing sounds cluttered. Everything has it's place and no particular element impeaches on the other's musical territory. The music is mainly comprised of layered vocals, strings, field recordings, electronics, acoustic guitars, drums, samples but there's plenty more going on!

Essentially though this is an indie pop album with a lot of bells and whistles. It's a gentle record steeped in countryside romanticism and one which I think many people will cherish over the years. Oh guest stars! I knew I had something else to say! The album features Stephen Jones (which you know about!) as well as Richard Vincent Adams (Declining Winter), Antony Harding (July Skies), Andrew Johnson (Remote Viewer), Craig Tattersall (The Boats & Remote Viewer), Sarah Kemp (Brave Timbers) and lots more. A star studded cast playing a whole plethora of different instruments (hammered dulcimer, clarinet, violin, brass, glockenspiel, xylophone etc) as well as the Epic 45 boys playing a million different instruments, using samples, field recordings and all kinds of shenanigans reckon the boys (and girl) have done good with this 'un.

Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.

Sound clips for Weathering by Epic 45: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Make Mine Music, MMM068, £5.49.

What their label says...

There is a long tradition of pastoral music capturing a quintessential Englishness, running from
Vaughan Williams through the English folk tradition to more recent names like Robert Wyatt and
Talk Talk. Further down this line you'll find Epic45.

Ten years after their formation in a small rural Midlands village, a decade in which the nucleus of Ben
Holton and Rob Glover have redefined and refined the band's sound, Epic45 release “Weathering”,
their new album and definitive statement. Epic45's last full-length album “May Your Heart Be The
Map” in 2007 was described as “the best English summer album ever” by Word Magazine, and was
later included in their albums of the decade. “Weathering” takes the same elements, but is a more
mature, reflective and subdued work with a far broader sonic palette.

The album mourns the loss of a way of life that Ben and Rob's generation were the last to witness.
Over the last twenty or thirty years, many English villages have become subsumed by the growth of
neighbouring towns and cities and their identity has been lost. It was the intention to convey a sense
of the ravaging effects of time on places, objects and lives, and to reflect these ideas of change and
decay through the textures and lyrical themes.

“Weathering” boasts an impressive set of guest singers and musicians. Stephen Jones of Babybird
lends his trademark falsetto to the beautiful “With Our Backs to the City”, a track co-written with
Jones after he contacted the band, impressed by a cover of his song “Losing My Hair” that Epic45
had been performing live. The track is unquestionably one of the album's highlights. Rose Berlin, the
daughter of Curve's Dean Garcia, adds her delicate vocals to “Summer Message”, a duet she wrote and
performs with Ben. Meanwhile, regular contributor Antony Harding of July Skies, sings and plays
clarinet on the Durutti Column-esque “Ghosts I Have Known”. Instrumental contributions come
from a wide cast including Richard Adams of The Declining Winter and Hood, who adds guitar and
hammered dulcimer, electronic duo The Remote Viewer, EL Heath and Brave Timbers/Declining
Winter violinist Sarah Kemp.

“Weathering” is a stunning addition to Epic45's already impressive and sought-after body of work. It
will be available in June 2011 on a digipak CD (with artwork designed by the band with NME Award
winning designer Ben Curzon) and digital download.