We beg Manchester Orhcestra's Andy Hull, please stop releasing albums with such regularity. It seems every time a Hull production hits our iPod, it ruins our ability to listen to anything else for weeks on end. Such is the case with the final piece of his solo trilogy, Right Away, Great Captain! There is no need to hear the first two pieces to enjoy the album, though you will likely feel compelled to check them out in the wake of this exceptional piece of work. The album opens with the main character having strangled his brother, having found him in bed with his wife after returning from sea. The quietly strummed acoustic, barely there piano, and warm backing singers offer a thin backing for Hull's worn vocals, "This house was my flowered heart / And my petals have fallen / Do you love him, tell me now / Or I'll show you my scars".
The rest of the album finds him in his prison cell reflecting on his life, making for a somber, sparse setting that suits Hull's narrative songwriting style and emotional, personality-filled vocals beautifully. The enveloping admission of his temporary insanity, "I am not me", on the heartbreaking "Fur Stop Caring" cuts like a dagger, as he attempts to get his wife to give up on him and move on. The dream waltz that follows on "I Wait For You" finds her response a sweet, romantic treasure fueled by Hulls' nimble vocals dancing around the drippy guitar. The hushed vocals lightly skipping melodically through "I Am Aware" gradually wake to a quivering roar by the end as he comes to grips with his fate and what he has done to his family, as Hull shows that armed with only an acoustic guitar he is every bit as compelling a backing as his fiery work with Manchester Orchestra.
The way the album holds your rapt attention from start to finish in the lowly lit tunes, with haunting vocals delivering a brilliant narrative solidifies Andy Hull as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation. The lo-fi overdubbed vocals of murky "Barely Bit Me" finds him slyly warning, "The sinners always find a way to make the saints obey", over the muffled fuzz of electric guitar as he hopes for leniancy in court. The lonely chirp of guitar plucking in an empty room speaks volumes of the desolation on "We Were Made Out Of Lightning" as he reflects on his sudden fit of rage as he prepares for his own death, with two parts of closing "Memories From The End" offering a mournful look back on his life. The third in the Right Away, Great Captain! trilogy is a magnificent, captivating listen that should not be missed.
Seek - "Fur Stop Caring", "I Am Aware", "I Wait For You"
For fans of - Ray LaMontagne
If you like this, we think you'll also dig - David Ford: I Sincerely Apologize For All The Trouble I've Caused
No comments:
Post a Comment