At Swim - Lisa Hannigan

Track list:

1. Fall
2. Prayer For The Dying
3. Snow
4. Lo
5. Undertow
6. Ora
7. We The Drowned
8. Anahorish
9. Tender
10. Funeral Suit
11. Barton

Running time: 39 minutes
Released: 2016

So a second interlude in the midst of the DiFranco discs. This arrived before Astronaut Meets Appleman, but I didn't get to it before the latter arrived, so At Swim got relegated. It has now been sat around, un-listened to, for over a month.

I was trawling around online looking for new music and saw that Lisa Hannigan had a record out. I raised an eyebrow - whilst I loved Sea Sew, I found Passenger much less interesting. However I looked into it, to find that this album is produced by Aaron Dessner of The National whose work on This is the Kit's Bashed Out I liked a lot. Sold, then. Now to find out if that was wise...

It opens with a gentle little strum, and then a typically husky intonation from our singer. It is a laid back beginning, low key and approachable. Ooh, a swell and a hint of harmony in the vocal; pity it comes on wandering, directionless notes not in more defined lyrics. That said, the general tone of this first track is a big winner for me. It harks back a little, more reminiscent of Sea Sew than Passenger for me. Before Fall ends I find myself getting impatient for the close, but that did not manifest until the denouement so I don't hold too much against it. I'm sure the second track will be cheerier... oh, wait. No - it matches the title in tone.

The reasons for the sparse September around these parts are many and varied. From business travel to Boggle, family to fatigue, spending to... exercising? I am trying to shake some of my overall inactivity in favour of a healthier approach. Time is yet to comment on the merits or longevity of this idea. I find Prayer for the Dying quite tiresome on initial exposure. It sounds as though there might be something of interest there, but it is buried in the supporting sounds if so. The vocal is drifting, the pace plodding and my overuse of alliteration is annoying even me by now. This is a candidate for the chop, but as with other things in the past I don't feel that ridding myself of tunes I have given no chance is helpful. It might be a grower.

Ah! More like it. Snow has a simpler sound, and a hushed, whispering singing that feels like a caress to my ears, gently drawing attention away from the nice but muted melodies that hide behind Hannigan's song. I love this woman's voice when she uses like this - all soft edges - it has a soothing quality. The synergy with the rest of the composition is pretty great too, in particular the way her tones interweave with the piano part in the arrangement. Its glorious how my ears did not know which to follow, drawn keenly to both. If this isn't the stand out track from the album I will be very surprised.

I am feeling good about the purchase at this stage - actually I think Snow probably justifies it outright for me. It is not a complete retread of old ground. The general sound of these tunes is different from either of the other albums I have thanks to changes in the arrangement - Dessner's impact perhaps? I like that it is so, for as much as I love Sea Sew, a retread offers nothing (and a retread of Passenger would be forgettable I suspect). It isn't all great, but there are some great moments.

Undertow is an odd track. I suspect it is a grower. My initial response to it is not positive, but there are elements there that I really like - the staccato strings, the general progression of the backing that provides the rhythm and structure - and I think with a few listens I might appreciate other elements of the sound more. That said, by the end of the piece it felt a little repetitive and I am glad when the next number reverts to piano to support Hannigan's ethereal singing. Her vocal style glides over and under and around the tune, which left to itself is nice distraction but no more. The song finishes rather abruptly - or it feels like it does to me, at least.

It is not a cheery album, not a bit of it. Any uplift comes from the enjoyment of her voice and the occasionally light touches of the keyboard. Pace is generally slow, funereal even, and tone is primarily sombre. This does not prevent it from having moments of real charm. There is a spot in We, The Drowned where the arrangement is left to it that is wonderfully tuneful, peaceful and absorbing.That tune is replaced by an a capella number which showcases some unusual harmonies and choices in terms of the singing. I am not sure what I make of it. On balance I am probably glad when a more expected song structure returns for Tender. Having said that the slow tempo and downbeat nature of the songs is starting to wear on me a bit.

There is real beauty in her singing, and I can hear touches of class in how the pieces have been put together. It feels really well crafted more than anything. However the darkness of the tones starts to grate after a while. What it needs is another Snow to pull up the rooting doubts. However a song titled Funeral Suit was never likely to be the shot in the arm I was after, and indeed it isn't; more of the same - nicely sung, nicely played, nicely put together but overwhelmingly morose. I think I would enjoy this more in bitesize installments rather than as a full meal. They say the album is a dying art, as good as dead, even; maybe I am finally starting to see it that way. Or maybe I am just tired; that seems more likely.

To say the last song is cheery would be misleading, but it doesn't have the same tones that have grown to irk me. There are some nice uses of electronics here too - it has a very different feel, actually and does work as a nice closer, cleanser, even uplifting things. The key line is crucial to the lightness here, but it is the electronic percussion that makes the track - a really significant part of the arrangement, front and centre in its usage but with subtle application in that despite being the thing that most draws my ear it never dominates. Most importantly it synchronises darn well with everything else used.

I feel much better about the album after that final track. Two standouts then, but if asked to pick I would have to chose Snow every time. Hannigan returned, I am happy for that, but I doubt I will consume all of this in album form again; maybe once in the car to try to let the other songs grow on me, perhaps...

Boxer - The National

Track list:

1. Fake Empire
2. Mistaken For Strangers
3. Brainy
4. Squalor Victoria
5. Green Gloves
6. Slow Show
7. Apartment Story
8. Start A War
9. Guest Room
10. Racing Like A Pro
11. Ada
12. Gospel

Running time: 42 minutes
Released: 2007

I saw this around everywhere before I finally picked it up. Can't for the life of me remember why I chose to grab it though, but I seem to recall liking it, and I bought the follow-up too so I must have had an affection for the way The National went about things. I can't really remember any of their songs though (save Rains of Castermere, of course).

We begin with a bouncy piano in isolation, but as soon as the vocal starts I am reminded why I liked this. The deep resonant tones of the singer give a really nice round sound, convey a sense of distance and space and... yeah. One aspect of music that made it over the pond, which is rarer in material of these shores, is that big sky feeling. Its the same sense of openness that drew me to Willard Grant Conspiracy, Grand Drive (though they were based in Blighty) and... someone else I was going to mention specifically but who I have completely blanked on now.

The second track is pacier, more constrained and percussion led. It sort of works, but I feel that it probably is not playing to their strengths as I perceive them; there are better proponents of this kind of song though again I fail to bring any to mind at the point where that would be helpful! I am taking a quick (well... 45 minute I guess!) break from cleaning - a chore that was very desperate and will carry on into tomorrow; part of the need for a week off, and it is nice to have a relatively bite-sized album to dive into. The tune has grown on me whilst I have been digressing and I find myself enjoying it more as it fades. Brainy keeps a similar pace and percussive bent, but lets the vocal free again. It is like Mistaken For Strangers was stuck in a tunnel whilst before and after the songs have clear sky above. My problem with tracks that are driven by rhythm like this one is that the beat pattern becomes so front and centre that my mind can't tear away from it. This poses me issues in true enjoyment because I then inevitably latch on to how repetitive that sound is (let alone that that is the point of rhythm) and grow tired of the track because I followed the wrong thread. This is my issue, not the song's.

I like the interplay between forceful drums and soft, understated keys - but I would, ideally, favour the keys more than the drums in the balancing. Not so the production on Squalor Victoria, or maybe that is me grabbing the wrong straw again; either way the track breezes by and we get a very different feel on Green Gloves. The percussion is noticeably missing or stripped right back early on, nice little riffs replacing it, it gives a much more relaxed air to the piece.

The vocals really are the star though. Drawl. Tone. Atmosphere. In the right place and right time... I wouldn't want to listen to this style all the time but when paired well with sounds to support it, that easy, lazy sound of a throat I imagine wetted with whisky and parched by tobacco (whether that applies to this frontman or not) has an appeal. I think The National do a pretty decent job of fitting their music around the distinctive voice and approach. One thing that surprises me a little - but shouldn't do when looking at the number of tracks and total running time - is that each song is over very fast. I tend to associate Americana like this with longer tracks, more time to go with the sense of space. Not so here. Unlike Lambchop (they were whom I was to reference earlier and forgot), here that openness is conveyed whilst still sticking pretty closely to a radio-friendly song structure. I find this to be a plus point, because it takes a fair amount of craft to create time and space when so limited, and I find myself appreciating that. Limits are good for creativity, not bad for it. They may be bad for vision, mind.

Start a War is more subdued, tired, and it enervates me. Suddenly I just want to sleep. That unfortunate effect aside I like the tune, but my heavy eyelids disagree. It's the middle of the day for hell's sake. Guest Room returns to the previously established standard and I find myself wondering if a whole album isn't a little too much of a good thing. There is a touch of samey-ness about it that builds a sense of ennui - or perhaps that ennervation just switched me off their wavelength.

It was a choice between listening or shaving as a break from the cleaning (bathroom next - joy), and this won out. I do desperately need both shave and haircut though; I'm feeling decidedly unkempt. Hopefully the half term haircuts are mostly out of the way by now and Friday wont see a massive queue at the barbers. Find out tomorrow. On the record, we have another softer, percussion-light piece and I am not really engaged. Perhaps it is just the repeated lyric "You're dumbstruck baby" grating; I am anything but. I suspect on its own it would have come across better. That said, I really like the tune on Ada, and when the piano, and horns join the appeal reaches peak. This is a really nicely crafted song, though the vocal is less appealing here than it was on the first few tracks of the disc. Some of that might be the clarity of the lyrics and how trite I find them, so I try to tune out the singing and just follow the flow of the track. I enjoy it more that way.

Final number now. Gospel is slower, voice and guitar base, support added. It feels a little weak compared to what I was hearing half an hour ago. This just makes me appreciate the short songs more, though; shuffle isn't so different to radio, and these feel radio-friendly. I don't really begrudge these last tracks even though I have found them less engaging than the early ones and I can see them being more enjoyable in a different context. So, silence falls and I must depart to get the rubber gloves on...