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DVDfever.co.uk – Iain Archer: To The Pine Roots CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Black Records
- Released: March 2009
- Rating: 8/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Forest folk from one-time Snowpatroler.
On-off, now ex-Snowpatrol member Iain Archer strides forward with his third solo album since quitting.
To The Pine Roots (taken from A Dylan Thomas poem) is pretty much a lo-fi affair recorded during repeated visits to southern Germanys Black Forest with friends and family. Images of the Black Forest itself come as a dark and bleak place. In contrast, Archer has conjured an album of perky and pretty songs with more than a little Celtic touchstone.Theres a genuine warmth (log fires maybe) and cuddly feel to the sound, almost, like the efforts of Bon Ivers For Emma, Forever Ago, without the sparseness.
Archer does his thing beautifully, really. His musical buddies seem to have just wandered in (they were invited) and offered their talents by way of chance, without inconveniencing the Irish wanderer. We know theyre there, because when they kick -in, theyre mightily effective, and impressive, in an understated way, just like the album.
Theres no breaking sweat here. Things come across as relaxed and cosy with Archer casually drifting from one song to another. His fragile, hushed and lilting voice adds a touch of innocence across the board, perfectly complimenting his acoustic tenderness. Like the PR blurb says, these songs are borne of liberated songwriting instinct. Essentially the album is about hope and lifes challenges. There are wondrous and ponderous tales of the past such as the jolly 60s California- lite Streamer On A Kite. Black Mountain Quarry does the same job reminisce but its not a dark mood he offers, quite the contrary. Jon Kensingtons double bass is both stylish and groovy with Phil Wilkinsons drumming edgy and solid.
Using metaphors for life and living The Acrobat sparkles with tingling acoustic pics, supported by wife Miriams (almost drone like) harmonium. As a big fan of Neil Young, I can definitely see parallels with Songbirds Young-like vocal warble and acoustic country-folk from both After The Gold Rush and Harvest.
One song stands out head and shoulders Frozen Lake. This stunning piece is a love song like no other: simple, direct and poetic. His soaring, and often stretched voice is matched in texture by the exaggerated) movement of his fingers shifting on the fretboard. Wife Miriam handles the Rhodes with great sensitivity, but the clincher is the overwhelming beauty of Oliver Krauss strings breathtaking.
Verdict A work of art.
Weblink:iainarcher.co.uk
The full list of tracks included are :
1. The Acrobat
2. Songbird
3. Black Mountain Quarry
4. Hey Mia, Dont Be lonely
5. Everest
6. Frozen Lake
7. Streamer On A Kite
8. To Mend And Move Along
9. The NightwatchmanView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.