Caught In The Wake Forever - Against A Simple Wooden Cross (CD)

Bleak. If you want cheering up on this drizzly Friday morning I wouldn’t read the press release if I were you. However, the best music is usually borne out personal despair - witness Clinton’s official best song of all time ‘Til I Die’ by the Beach Boys, a song so brilliant it’s kind of beyond music and should have a whole new term dedicated to it.

Anyway the lad behind this album seems to have gone through some tough times of late but music heals all known ills so this increasingly gorgeous album is a good exchange for months of despair. It creeps along at a snail’s pace, guitars slowly unfurling and interweaving while whispered distracted vocals appear on top from time to time. It mostly recalls Sophia’s delicate heart-wrenching compositions but played at half pace with the drummer told to leave the room. The other notable comparisons would be Dakota Suite or the slow, solitary half of the Sparklehorse oeuvre or the Northern pluckings of Empress. We are all impressed by this album, it’s growing into its skin beautifully and will probably sound even better in the dark.