BIRDSONG AT MORNING
Heavens
Blue Gentian 002
* * *
The cover of the new Birdsong at Morning CD is a partial headshot of astronomer Sir John Herschel taken by 19th century photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. If that doesn’t signal that the material contained therein is heady stuff, the music and lyrics will. If there is a category called “art folk,” Birdsong (Alan Williams, Darleen Wilson, Greg Porter) is in it. This is ethereal, introspective stuff that’s true to the album’s title. “Astronomy” kicks off a six-track album that muses over the cosmos, humankind’s place in it, and the mysteries that refuse to be unraveled. The album’s virtue is intelligence; its major drawback is inaccessibility. “Clean,” for example, is about a man in existential crisis, and “Adrift” about one lost amidst the stars. Both have the expansive open feel of infinity, but each also envelops the vocals in a dense aural soundscape that melds the lyrics into the instruments. In like fashion, “Moonlight Mile” reworks a Rolling Stones song as something that resembles a meditation grafted to a chant grafted to a lullaby. Smart stuff, but not exactly material that will imprint on the brain…
This is part two of a four-part project. As experimental music, give it high marks. Most listeners, however, will gravitate to “Mystery,” the album’s catchiest song. It’s one that builds slowly and quietly on the verses and explodes into the chorus. It’s the perfect frame for Williams’ warm voice and it adds drama to the very singable/quotable lines:“I don't want to look in the eyes of heaven/I don't want to see what I can't believe/I don't want to run to the arms of Jesus/I just want to keep the mystery.” It’s such a great song that it suggests that Birdsong might want to explore ways to merge heaven and earth on part three.
Heavens
Blue Gentian 002
* * *
The cover of the new Birdsong at Morning CD is a partial headshot of astronomer Sir John Herschel taken by 19th century photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. If that doesn’t signal that the material contained therein is heady stuff, the music and lyrics will. If there is a category called “art folk,” Birdsong (Alan Williams, Darleen Wilson, Greg Porter) is in it. This is ethereal, introspective stuff that’s true to the album’s title. “Astronomy” kicks off a six-track album that muses over the cosmos, humankind’s place in it, and the mysteries that refuse to be unraveled. The album’s virtue is intelligence; its major drawback is inaccessibility. “Clean,” for example, is about a man in existential crisis, and “Adrift” about one lost amidst the stars. Both have the expansive open feel of infinity, but each also envelops the vocals in a dense aural soundscape that melds the lyrics into the instruments. In like fashion, “Moonlight Mile” reworks a Rolling Stones song as something that resembles a meditation grafted to a chant grafted to a lullaby. Smart stuff, but not exactly material that will imprint on the brain…
This is part two of a four-part project. As experimental music, give it high marks. Most listeners, however, will gravitate to “Mystery,” the album’s catchiest song. It’s one that builds slowly and quietly on the verses and explodes into the chorus. It’s the perfect frame for Williams’ warm voice and it adds drama to the very singable/quotable lines:“I don't want to look in the eyes of heaven/I don't want to see what I can't believe/I don't want to run to the arms of Jesus/I just want to keep the mystery.” It’s such a great song that it suggests that Birdsong might want to explore ways to merge heaven and earth on part three.
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