| | | |
| ||
| |||
VESPERTINE & SONis a sporadically active collective that, in conjunction with its precursor, the Vespertine, has foisted Gnac, Quigley, the Montgolfier Brothers, At Swim Two Birds, the Otto Show, the Bitter Springs, Bear (and a few other worthies) upon the world. The lights are currently dim, and while we expect to be able to offer these releases for a while longer, supplies of everything are thinning. Distribution for Vespertine & Son in North America (and, to some extent, beyond) is coordinated by Radio Khartoum. If you are a shop looking to purhase wholesale quantities, please click here for a list of our wholesale distributors. | |||
 | AT SWIM TWO BIRDS: Before You LeftVespertine & Son (UK) Before You Left underlines Roger Quigley's credentials as an expert purveyor of slowly unravelling melancholic pop. Over more than a decade, both on his own and as leader of Manchester's Montgolfier Brothers, Quigley has developed a distinctive style of composition and delivery. The voice, increasingly rich and sonorous, presides over a backdrop of delicate, repetitive guitar arpeggios and sweeping cello. The mood — soporific, hypnotic — recalls Spiritualized's woozy refrains as well as the likes of Bill Callahan and Leonard Cohen, with whom Quigley has been compared in the past. Regular live collaborators Sophia Lockwood and Otto Smart bolster the music, and there's an appearance by Doves keyboardist Martin Rebelski, who wrote and arranged Let Her Go with Quigley. With a knowing nod to A Man Alone, Sinatra's bleak exposition of love and loss, Before You Left unblinkingly explores the collapse of a relationship with the help of recurring melodic motifs. In a recent blog, former Creation and Poptones boss Alan McGee declared: "With their baroque music, regretful lyrics and northern soulfulness, the Montgolfier Brothers should have been huge". With the release of Before You Left, there's still time to catch up with At Swim Two Birds.
| ||
 | AT SWIM TWO BIRDS: Quigley's PointVespertine & Son (UK) First solo album in a long time from Quigley, and it's like having an old friend in the house—no matter that Roger (who is indeed an old friend...see Transmarine) has gone and re-christened himself "At Swim Two Birds." You know (or should know) his voice from The Montgolfier Brothers. Gentle yet intense, intimate...or is that confessional? Either way (and any way) we always find Quigley best when we want something quiet that is not background music. Undulating guitars with a hint of a carousel or circus in the distance, moody and pretty. Vaguely along the lines of the Durutti Column, but driven not by Vini's noodling, but by lyrics and personality. No, not that kind of personality—no rock stars please! This CD comes in a die cut paper sleeve, neatly folded and quite elegant in simple black and white.
| ||
 | THE MONTGOLFIER BROTHERS: All My Bad ThoughtsVespertine & Son (UK) Manchester’s Roger Quigley (At Swim Two Birds) and Mark Tranmer (Gnac) return with their first album in three years, turning their attentions (and dissections) this time to the changing face of their home town. Serene, yet as intense as anything you’d care for. More gorgeous sounds for the wee hours of the night. Have Mark and Roger taken out a trademark on this stuff?
| ||
 | THE MONTGOLFIER BROTHERS: Journey's EndVespertine & Son (UK) More crepuscular melodies from Roger Quigley (At Swim Two Birds) and Mark Tranmer (Gnac) mark the Manchester duo’s return after 3 years in absentia. It’s a very classical oriented outing, completely sans percussion yet as quietly intense as ever, as Quigley reflects on the changing face of his home town. Title track is taken from the brothers’ new album, All My Bad Thoughts, however I think I like the other three tracks even better. The EP also includes a pair of slideshows, one for the title track and the other for a jaunty instrumental (OK, this one has percussion) called “Operation Faff” which has hitherto only been available as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of 2002’s “The World is Flat”.
| ||
 | THE OTTO SHOW: The Very Spit of the Otto ShowVespertine & Son (UK) A collection of vintage recordings from Otto Smart, the mysterious third Montgolfier Brother. Like labelmate/bandmate Quigley, Otto’s sound is almost uncomfortably intimate. And even more fragile: a little rough at times, and frequently toy-like. Although generally grounded in guitar, the instrumentation is diverse, ranging from glockenspiel to harmonium. The style is totally out of synch with the 80s (when these songs were reportedly recorded by a teenage Otto), unless we think of él Records at their most shambolic. Otto’s voice sounds a bit like Robert Wyatt’s, but musically he seems to be channeling 50s jazz, Bacharach & David, and early 20th Century classical music out of the Marine Girls’ shed. With the occasional mid-song classical guitar explosion, just to throw the balance. Despite a few teenage rough bits, the lyrics here are substantial and will take you into seldom-to-never-charted territory involving lonely whales, disfigured Hollywood actresses, and Vikings on the train to Manchester. All with a persistent negativity which borders on deadpan comic genius: “Many things can make you sad / Several things can bring you joy” and “Some faces launch a thousand ships / Some faces couldn’t budge a canoe,” to quote just two couplets. Miserabilia with a wink, and another nice die-cut package like the At Swim number. Lovely cover illustration by Otto’s dad.
| ||
 | V/A: An Evening in the Company of the VespertineVespertine (UK) Appendix Out (Alasdair Roberts), Butterfly Child, Cavil, Fuxa, Gnac, Lazerboy, Mongers, Nautilus, Oneironaut (Ian Masters), Quigley and Transfiguration all avoid opening their mouths in a concept album charting an evening in a large, dank, ruin of a house with track-suited trick-or-treaters with byronic curls and an ever-expanding drinks cabinet. “21 song compilation with Quigley, Gnac, Lazerboy, and many others playing top notch studio mood pieces that are challenging, not just soundscapes; these are fully developed songs by bands who seem to operate in a different arena than the verse chorus bridge one that is so familiar to us all. I really could have gone on and on about this CD because it is so good, but the very experience of this CD is not to do that; the experience schools you to just accept it as what it is and enjoy it in your own way. I hope you do just that and get to spend some time with this disc at the station or in your home.” —Carl Thien, Gullbuy “One we’ll still play when all our friends have died” —DDDD “An innovative record if nothing else” —City Life
| ||
