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| Track List: 1. Behind the Stars 2. Inner City, City Lights 3. The Left Lane 4. Houston, the 5th 5. Three Falling Free Part I 6. Three Falling Free Part II 7. The Childhood Dream Running time: 60 minutes Released: 2012 |
It's late, I cannot sleep - mind buzzing. Maybe because I feel guilty in not doing one of these for a while, as I have been busy? Nah - in actual fact it is more likely a question of being wired by the Bloodbowl game I won earlier, a see-saw match that started (and thus ended) later than I would like as it was my only scheduling option this week. That, and the book I am reading. Ellroy always has me chewing mental scenery. That, and going back to work after a week off.
The passing of Esbjörn Svensson in a diving accident at the age of 44 robbed the world of a great musical talent. 301 is a record, released 4 years after his death, that I have never really listened to. The pieces were recorded at the same time as Leucocyte, but held back by the band after the accident. Late night, whisky in hand, is a good time for jazz though. Maybe it will buy me sleep at the cost of an hour.
Behind the Stars is a gentle opener, short and quiet. There are hints of what I did not like about Leucocyte with discordant notes here and there and I am hoping that is not a theme. See that, not the posthumous thing, is why I never really listened to this album after acquiring it. Inner City, City Lights is much longer: 11.50. Major work. It feels like mood music for Sin City for the first 4, threatening riff and not too much else of note but there is always Svensson's piano to cut through that tension. It is a track to get lost in thought to - as I just have. It is almost mesmeric in rhythm and structure but there is not really enough going on to command full attention, thus I drifted off in thought. Thus far I cannot see any merit in the idea I saw somewhere that this may be E.S.T.'s ultimate album in any sense other than being their final one.
For me, classic E.S.T. is Seven Days of Falling/Tuesday Wonderland - the melodies, the intensity, the sheer joy and power I find in those tracks sets a high bar. So far nothing on this album measures up for my money. The Left Lane is more active, but it does not feel like it hangs together properly. It is another epic in length and I think that works against it. Whether it is growing older, or some other factor, but I am coming to appreciate more these days when things know when to stop. I like endings. There are nice moments in longer tracks, sure, but generally my appreciation is greater for works that build, climax and complete in a more timely fashion. I do not know if it is the same mood that drove me to be writing this now that is interfering with my ability to enjoy the listen, or the fact that I feel like I am hearing a ghost - a sense that does not materialise with their other work.
Or perhaps I just do not like the musical direction they were heading. Houston, the 5th falls into this category for sure. To me, there is nowt musical about this track. Instead it resembles the sort of sound experiments that kids might make with their first recording device. Utter bilge. When it gives way to Three Falling Free Part I there is a ray of hope. This opens with a nice piano line but does not seem to build. Instead it meanders and for some reason I bring to mind Blade Runner, the scene where Rachel sits at the piano. The meander is a pleasant one but, like much that has preceded it, not coherent enough for me to fall in love with, and I find myself wanting Part II to start to see if that (despite its length) is better. This is turning into the most disappointing listen to date, though not the most unpleasant.
Somewhere, it turns out, Part II did start. I missed it whilst looking for a clip of the Blade Runner scene. I also found the review that called this perhaps E.S.T.'s greatest work. I wonder what that guy was smoking. Part II builds more than other tracks to my ear, I would say that it is comfortably ahead in the "star of the album" stakes despite the length. That said, it is not necessarily building to a good conclusion. There is darkness in this piece - and whilst certain sections echo tracks from my favoured albums there is much more... noise. The listener is not encouraged to settle. Some might see this as a good thing; right now, I do not. I will say that once it gets going, the track is anything but dull as a result.
The opening of The Childhood Dream gives me optimism for this track, which the name re-enforces. The tune is much more of a classic jazz melody - not what drew me to E.S.T. but more welcome than the noisy distortionate stuff that seems to have been their bent before it all came to a tragic end. It is a beautiful tune though, less schmaltzy than Believe, Beleft, Below but of the same cloth. It is a good end to an album that I did not rightly enjoy, and that leaves me feeling happier as I contemplate heading back up to bed and hoping to have better luck with the whole sleep thing this time.
I would not contend that this is a good jazz album for whisky in hand late night listening by any shot, so my earlier comment was clearly made in ignorance. However I cannot bear to clear the album from my library because I love E.S.T. so very much.
The passing of Esbjörn Svensson in a diving accident at the age of 44 robbed the world of a great musical talent. 301 is a record, released 4 years after his death, that I have never really listened to. The pieces were recorded at the same time as Leucocyte, but held back by the band after the accident. Late night, whisky in hand, is a good time for jazz though. Maybe it will buy me sleep at the cost of an hour.
Behind the Stars is a gentle opener, short and quiet. There are hints of what I did not like about Leucocyte with discordant notes here and there and I am hoping that is not a theme. See that, not the posthumous thing, is why I never really listened to this album after acquiring it. Inner City, City Lights is much longer: 11.50. Major work. It feels like mood music for Sin City for the first 4, threatening riff and not too much else of note but there is always Svensson's piano to cut through that tension. It is a track to get lost in thought to - as I just have. It is almost mesmeric in rhythm and structure but there is not really enough going on to command full attention, thus I drifted off in thought. Thus far I cannot see any merit in the idea I saw somewhere that this may be E.S.T.'s ultimate album in any sense other than being their final one.
For me, classic E.S.T. is Seven Days of Falling/Tuesday Wonderland - the melodies, the intensity, the sheer joy and power I find in those tracks sets a high bar. So far nothing on this album measures up for my money. The Left Lane is more active, but it does not feel like it hangs together properly. It is another epic in length and I think that works against it. Whether it is growing older, or some other factor, but I am coming to appreciate more these days when things know when to stop. I like endings. There are nice moments in longer tracks, sure, but generally my appreciation is greater for works that build, climax and complete in a more timely fashion. I do not know if it is the same mood that drove me to be writing this now that is interfering with my ability to enjoy the listen, or the fact that I feel like I am hearing a ghost - a sense that does not materialise with their other work.
Or perhaps I just do not like the musical direction they were heading. Houston, the 5th falls into this category for sure. To me, there is nowt musical about this track. Instead it resembles the sort of sound experiments that kids might make with their first recording device. Utter bilge. When it gives way to Three Falling Free Part I there is a ray of hope. This opens with a nice piano line but does not seem to build. Instead it meanders and for some reason I bring to mind Blade Runner, the scene where Rachel sits at the piano. The meander is a pleasant one but, like much that has preceded it, not coherent enough for me to fall in love with, and I find myself wanting Part II to start to see if that (despite its length) is better. This is turning into the most disappointing listen to date, though not the most unpleasant.
Somewhere, it turns out, Part II did start. I missed it whilst looking for a clip of the Blade Runner scene. I also found the review that called this perhaps E.S.T.'s greatest work. I wonder what that guy was smoking. Part II builds more than other tracks to my ear, I would say that it is comfortably ahead in the "star of the album" stakes despite the length. That said, it is not necessarily building to a good conclusion. There is darkness in this piece - and whilst certain sections echo tracks from my favoured albums there is much more... noise. The listener is not encouraged to settle. Some might see this as a good thing; right now, I do not. I will say that once it gets going, the track is anything but dull as a result.
The opening of The Childhood Dream gives me optimism for this track, which the name re-enforces. The tune is much more of a classic jazz melody - not what drew me to E.S.T. but more welcome than the noisy distortionate stuff that seems to have been their bent before it all came to a tragic end. It is a beautiful tune though, less schmaltzy than Believe, Beleft, Below but of the same cloth. It is a good end to an album that I did not rightly enjoy, and that leaves me feeling happier as I contemplate heading back up to bed and hoping to have better luck with the whole sleep thing this time.
I would not contend that this is a good jazz album for whisky in hand late night listening by any shot, so my earlier comment was clearly made in ignorance. However I cannot bear to clear the album from my library because I love E.S.T. so very much.
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