It has been a long time since the previous Army Of Briars release; sixteen years to be precise, but it does feel as though they have never been away.
Coalescing around the quartet of Julie and Tim Cole, Martin Archer and lyricist Keith Jafrate, they ply their unique blend of folk, jazz and impressionist abstraction on Made From A Broken Star, leaving the worries of the day-to-day world behind, and revelling in the joys and surprises that nature has to offer.
Keith’s poetic words here are lovely and thoughtful descriptions of nature’s solitude and definitely suit the ageless purity of Julie’s voice, which is the only constant through this intriguing mix of seventeen pieces that veer wildly in style from one track to the next.The autumnal nature of the album is evoked by the melancholy piano and hidden shoots of percussion that accompany Julie on opener “To William Blake”. Blake is a good pointer for some of Keith’s imagery, but his love of the countryside and for the more esoteric elements of rural existence make for a more interesting ride. Some tracks hint at folk, but there is far more going on with a particular use of woodwind on “Go Song” and the slow sweep of strings courtesy of Natalie Purton and Liz Hanks.
Some pieces have Julie harmonising with herself and I couldn’t help but be briefly reminded of Miranda Sex Garden. However, Julie’s cut-glass enunciation and observational distance inhabit their own frozen ground universe; while in contrast to Julie’s voice, Tim’s has an affecting frailty that injects a different power into the words. There is something ageless about his guitar accompaniment on “The Green Man”, with the line “All who pass my way are changed” being particularly moving. It is extraordinary on listening to the album to discover that this was all recorded remotely and then pieced together by Martin in the studio, as it does feel as though the various players are interacting naturally with one another. It seems that the more that time progresses, the more difficult it will be to differentiate between remote recordings and those where the group are playing together. There are no complaints here though, because if the quality of the output is akin to this then the possibilities are endless.The quartet was also fortunate to have assistance from pianist Paul Taylor, who lends some jazzy cascades to a few of the pieces and some melancholy introspection to others, but always allowing the differing vocal structures to take precedence. It is all dependent on Keith’s scanning which, like the best of poetry, only follows what the words demand.
Where the words lead so texture follows; there is slow unfurling discord in places and in others just the simplicity of frail voice and guitar. Double-tracked voices trade with scattered percussion courtesy of Martin Pyne on the mysterious “Birdflight”, while his vibraphone adds further abstraction to the spectre-like lilt and haunting motifs of “Flight Flower”. When Tim and Julie duet, there is a kind of magic that the differing styles exude, and you might not expect a throaty sax workout to appear; but it roars in on the penultimate “In Part Two”, just to keep you guessing. The ambient reprise that ends the album loops right back to the beginning and is a perfect way to see the disc out.Made From A Broken Star may have been sixteen years in the making, but it is well with the wait.
-Mr Olivetti-
