The Late Cord: Lights From The Wheelhouse

Elly Roberts reviews

The Late Cord: Lights From The Wheelhouse
Distributed by
EMI

    Cover

  • Cat.no: MAD2601CD
  • Released: April 2006
  • Rating: 4/10
  • Format: Mini-LP

It’s highly unlikely that this debut mini-LP will become a commercial success. The full blown follow-up later this year may also suffer.

In fact it may just disappear without a trace. This snail-paced album is fullof alternative-country rambling soundscapes by southern hero Micah P.Hinson and erstwhile side kick John Mark Lapham of The Earlies.

Their meeting was through a mutual friend. They discovered that they were fromthe same neck of the woods – the west Texas town of Abilene, though theirmusical backgrounds are very different.

Away from their independent careers, this side project, pools their undeniabletalents into the ultimate chill-out collection of five tracks that willsnuggle you up, or switch you off, literally depending on your mood.

Jam-packed with various instruments, for which they split responsibilities,Latham and Hinson coolly handle banjo, mandolin, thumb piano, blow tuner,harmonica (and even) a toy accordion, along with effects. With its‘church-like’ opening, Lila Blue plods reverently until it crescendos into acacophony and falls limply after a staggering 8 minutes 33 seconds.


Track 2, The Late Cord, begins with a crackly loop whilst Hinson’squirky drone-like vocals glide across the haunting musical background, a laMike Oldfield (Tubular Bells). Semay Wu’s sombre cello work on Chains/Stringstakes us into funeral territory, becoming the musical low-point.

Further plodding piano and church bells add to the pair’s collective vocalsin true Leonard Cohen spirit as they meander through My Most Meaningful etc etc.Finally, the dark Hung On The Cemetery Gates brings the true musicalhighlight, with Henry Da Massa’s dust-fuelled and hauntingly beautifulharmonica rising above Hinson and Lapham’s eerie lyric-less drones.

At times it’s hard work, very hard work, though the net result is interestingif nothing else.

Not for the casual listener I’m afraid.

Weblink:4AD.com


The full list of tracks included are :

1. Lila Blue
2. The Late Cord
3. Chains / Strings
4. My Most Meaningful Relationships Are With Dead People
5. Hung On The Cemetery Gates

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