Trefingle
Pinkie Maclure & John Wills : Cat’s Cradle (UK,2005)***°
This duo shows with this new release, compared to the earlier one, an improved sound, working towards perfection, especially on the first half of the album, where there’s most attention to various multi-layered arrangements. This makes the opener, “The Bending Wood”, so special : with fingerpicking, on a number of instruments (with some experimental textures), the wide range (-bass to soprano-) voice of Pinkie Maclure, and the use of melodeon.
Near the end her voice becomes almost animalistic and ritualistic, making the track and a few others similar to the waterway that Faun Fables travels.
Also “Slowly, slowly, the water flows” is like this : wonderfully arranged, with a multi-coloured percussion use that reminds me a bit of an early Jablkon track, and with an open ear to interesting sounds.
"Cat’s Cradle", like a few other songs following on after this, found more inspiration based upon a rhythm of a repetitive melody for creating a perfect mood fundament for the voice of Pinkie, to have some room to improvise.
“Cat’s Cradle” is even more than this, an interestingly arranged dialogue, -within a song structure-, between kettledrums, acoustic guitar, cymbals, voice, and some funny moving string sounds. From then on, musically, (except for "Fine Flowers in the valley") this mood creativity will become most important.
“Good Luck upon you”, the longest track, leaves the structure, with more repetitions, open to some vocal mood improvisations, which includes here also some attempt to throat singing and other ideas.
"Fine Flowers in the valley" starting a few seconds a capella, with bells, lyre, concertina, is like a magical UK folk song. “I take the long way round” takes again inspiration from a slow 1/2 cradle rhythm. Instrumentally it takes the fundament of a mood-creativity-thing, with a pagan mother-like energy. At some point Pinkie expresses herself vocally as if with a kitten like contentment. The concluding tracks have some similar energy.
Also the song "Over and over and over" sounds like a little cat rolling in her emotions. And "Lay down your arms", is another variation on a similar mood like this. Here' it's like a lullaby, to be heard when already lying down. Difficult not to become such a kitten after all this.
Recommended.
New 2006 release is reviewed ->
