Mornington Rec. 
Ted Barnes : Portal Nou (UK,2008)****'
This is already Ted Barnes third solo release (after "Short Scenes", 2002 and "Underbelly", 2005) which he did outside his close cooperations with Beth Orton, and work with his band Clayhill (since 2003). It is the first on his own label.
It is a varied well hung together album with instrumentals and a few songs, where Beth Orton (also singing) amongst others worked also closely with him.
Ted Barnes plays most of the playful instruments like guitars, piano, harmoniums, harmonica, toy piano, … Other band members : Ali Friend (Beth Orton,Clayhill) : double bass ; Tim Pierce (popular session musician) : drums ; Howard Gott : violin ; Sarah Willson : cello ; Alex Gordon : trumpet ; Matt Douse : trombone ; guest vocalists : Gavin Clark (Sunhouse / Clayhill / Unkle), Francoiz Breut (Calexico,Yann Tiersen), Beth Orton (s/sw), Dan Michaelson (Absentee), Kathryn Williams (s/sw).
The album switches smoothly from playful and colourful folk-pop with lots of instruments and happy rhythms, of funfair-like enthusiasm, then moves to such moments where all the people have left the scene and the funfair is deserted with a breeze of melancholy (with themes led by accordion, harmonica and glockenspiel more often, and some double bass perhaps and a bit of orchestration, besides a few leftover playful elements like for instance soft bottles percussion). Such after-hours tracks (like also the title track) could easily add, sometimes in a filmic way, something to the world of expressions of Yann Thiersen. This is again alternated with songs by Beth Orton, which are sweet happy and melancholic at the same time, often more rhythmical, like folk-pop music. Then we also have a few special song moments, like “Squeezebox” sung with a dangerously deep baritone voice with backing female vocals, like a new- Americana, half orchestrated and with the sound of banjos to it, with jazzy double bass, trumpet, harmonica, and some good percussion. It brings the earlier funfair association of an old time jazz streetband into mind. The other expressive oddity is “If the truth hurts” sung once more with a different voice, like a mixture of (the 2nd/3rd album) Talk Talk mixed with a mourning gospel blues, accompanied by bowed double bass, cello, and acoustic guitars, almost like a funeral song.
A masterpiece.
PS. Ted has also finished producing Gavin Clarks first solo album to be released early next year.
