At last, the Penguin Café is open again, managed by the wonderful Arthur Jeffes, who took over the band / orchestra after his father and founding member Simon passed away.
The Orchestra were originally part of Brian Eno’s Obscure Music label in the ’70s, whose reason for existence was to introduce ‘rock’ fans to more avant-garde artists and modern classical composers such as Gavin Bryars and Michael Nyman. The Orchestra built up a large following though, and were involved in many different aspects of the arts including dance. Mick Karn, the bassist of Japan, famously named his short lived café in London after them.
Since their re-emergence under Arthur’s leadership (although I must point out that the band now has totally different members than in Simon’s day), they have released some quite beautiful albums, including the wonderful and moving Handful Of Night.
“Temporary Shelter From The Storm” follows with a quiet atmospheric opening, its strings hovering like fireflies over Arthur’s beautiful piano work. The track sounds like a summer shower after a long hot spell bought to life, a sense of renewal, but a hint of quiet melancholy as well.
“In Re Budd’ is dedicated to the late composer Harold Budd, who died three years ago; the track is a joyful expression of what Harold was like as a person. The marimba keeps a steady rhythm while the piano plays a joyous melody over the top, lifting spirits and seemingly very different to the type of music that Budd himself was best known for composing. “Second Variety” has a stately piano where the strings layer beneath and move almost breathlessly there.
Side 2 opens with the sad piano of Jeffes on “Might Be Something” and double bass gives a big bottom end to the piano fugue, but also adds to a feeling of quietness. When the strings come in, the track transports itself somewhere else. Although it still holds on to its slightly melancholic feel, it gives the sense of beauty in sadness that we all feel from time to time; oddly, part of it reminded me of Nick Drake and that’s no bad thing. “No One Really Leaves…” carries the mood in a similar vein, with piano chords that hang in the air and a lush melody from the strings that feels almost heartbreaking at points. The tune soon gathers pace and builds slowly as it goes along.
More up-tempo is “Find Your Feet” and a strong rhythmic backing and the kind of staccato strings that make you want to move your feet. It’s a light and airy piece that pulls you in from its opening and then keeps you nodding your head along until its final moments. “Lamborghini 754” has probably the oddest title on the album, and the most chilled and slight melody on the record; is it representing a longing or yearning for one of these items? The chords are simple and atmospheric, and by the end the violin begins to carry the song to another place away from its slightly ambient opening.Using “Yodel” in the title is always going to remind PCO fans of the earlier “Prelude And Yodel”; luckily though, any real similarities end there for “Goldfinch Yodel” is an uplifting number that closes the album with the kind of sound that makes you smile. The piece has something life-affirming about it and blows the clouds away on a dreary day.
As always, the Penguin Café deliver sublime music in spades. Listen to it on a summer’s evening and you will be transported away from the stresses of everyday life and in the end, isn’t that what a trip to a café should be all about? You will also be in fine company with these Penguins, and you won’t have to worry about the size of the bill.-Gary Parsons-
