English Dream - Spottiswoode & His Enemies CD

ENGLISH DREAM, Spottiswoode & His Enemies sixth studio recording, is a haunting new departure for the New York septet. After winning two Independent Music Awards for Wild Goosechase Expedition - a poppy and satirical romp about a rock bands doomed tour - the band returns with a beautiful and much more atmospheric set of songs. Its an English record, written and sung by an Englishman but recorded in Brooklyn by a New York band. "SALVATION, our fourth record - was Americana" says Spottiswoode, the bands songwriter and frontman. "This time weve gone Anglicana and made a pastoral collection of songs about nature, love, childhood and the other side of the pond. Sometimes its idyllic and sometimes its a bit scary." The journey begins with the airy Till My Dying Day, a love song set in London. From the start, its clear the band has scrapped its old formula. A sparse unhurried ballad as the opener? Spottiswoode has shelved his trademark wit. Hes painting a landscape here, full of depth and warmth. The long and lush instrumental fade-out highlights a new more relaxed approach as well as the bands effortless trademark dynamism. Golden Apple is another love song, although this time the subject is forbidden love. The lyrics sing like a spooky nursery rhyme set somewhere between a quaint English grove and the Garden of Eden. The rhythm is upbeat and urgent. The band hast abandoned its rock and roll predilections after all. But once again theres something different. Spottiswoodes capod Fender Stratocaster played in Nashville tuning through a Twin Reverb chimes like a bell, the perfect counterpoint to his brooding baritone vocal. The recurrent reverb-drenched Nashville-tuned Strat becomes one of the signature sounds of the whole collection. Clear Your Mind is again unusual. The band sings an anthem, part Byrds part Fleet Foxes. I Didnt Know I Was So Sad, the following track, is one of Spottiswoodes most plaintive ballads to date. The singer, feted at a beautiful party in his honor, leaves in despair and wanders alone to the riverbank where he lies down in the grass and stares "up at the moon high above the trees in the silver sky." The natural world on this record is ever present. In English Dream, the albums cinematic title track, the singer takes a train journey to visit an old friend in an English town only to be confronted with visions and memories from his past. Performed in an off-kilter 5/4 time signature, the track features the spooky trilling of Riley McMahon on mandolin. This is the third Enemies album that McMahon, the bands lead guitarist, has also produced. At last we emerge from the fog. More songs about nature follow: Majesty, a bombastic and exuberant hymn to the planet; Genius Flower, an ode addressed to a daffodil or a tulip (or perhaps even to the listener?) that would make a Romantic poet blush; and Butterfly, a heartbroken ballad featuring more fluttering mandolin trills and also the evocative accordion of Tony Lauria. Despite the more subdued nature of the record as a whole there are still plenty of flashes of old-fashioned Enemies theatre. Lauria then switches back to piano to open up No Time For Love, the albums poppiest number. Delivered as a duo harmony by Spottiswoode and Kevin Cordt, the song is sixties retro both in melody and sentiment. Cordt soon blasts a punchy trumpet harmony over the rocking instrumental section, adding a touch of boogaloo brass. Even so, Laurias melodic driving piano gives the number a hooky dose of contemporary piano pop cred. Another Year shows off the versatility of the bands rhythm section. Tim Vaill on drums and John Young on bass address an almost Klezmer accordion melody with a driving neo-dub groove. The season has now switched to the autumn. The Englishman has taken his sorrows to an apple orchard. Dreamer Boy returns us to the city. A young boy moves house and changes school. He sits alone in his London room playing guitar while dreaming of a better life far away. Its the most directly autobiographical song on the record. "If only Tom Waits were a friend of mine and had an English accent," says Spottiswoode, "Id ask him to sing it very loudly." Who Were You, Baby?, a twisted and catchy ballad about a courtly affair, is followed by two lush closing tracks each featuring the gorgeous blended horn work of Candace DeBartolo and Kevin Cordt on tenor sax and trumpet respectively: Melancholy Boy, one of Spottiswoodes more vintage noir ballads; and Sweetest Girl, an upbeat and folksy love song that brings the record full circle.Additional Info: Personnel: Nora Jane Struthers (vocals, guitar); Joe Overton (claw hammer banjo); Aaron Jonah Lewis (fiddle); Drew Lawhorn (drums).

Specifics

  • Album: English Dream
  • Artist: Spottiswoode & His Enemies
  • Label: Old Soul Records
  • Genre: Rock, Pop
  • MPN: none
Tracklist

1. Till My Dying Day
2. Golden Apple
3. Clear Your Mind
4. I Didn't Know I Was So Sad
5. English Dream
6. Majesty
7. Genius Flower
8. Butterfly
9. No Time For Love
10. Another Year
11. Dreamer Boy
12. Who Were You, Baby?
13. Melancholy Boy
14. Sweetest Girl

(CD-700261397658)

SKU CD-700261397658
Barcode # 700261397658
Brand Old Soul Records
Shipping Weight 0.1140kg
Shipping Width 0.120m
Shipping Height 0.010m
Shipping Length 0.140m

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