A Broken Consort – Crow Autumn (Review)

Amongst the luxuries of being a listener, or in this context a reviewer, is that occasionally one is subjected to a work of utter brilliance…

This can force the listener to sit up, to break away from passive tendencies and absorb their subject with a greater admiration than usual. For the reviewer, it adds to an already pleasurable experience and fortunately this is where one finds themselves when providing a critique of A Broken Consort’s “Crow Autumn.”

A Broken Consort is one of the many guises of acclaimed British composer, Richard Skelton. Having released records previously through Type and his own Sustain-Release labels, “Crow Autumn” comes courtesy of Tomkins Square.

Here is an album that requires great focus from the listener; such is the detailing of each track. Perhaps best suited for headphone listening, to be able to absorb all the rich texturing, Crow Autumn is also a deeply personal record for the recording artist, inspired here by the landscapes of his native Lancashire.

Using his broad palette of acoustic instruments, including guitar, mandolin, piano, violin and accordion, Skelton opens with the relatively concise “Day Reveals.” This in many ways is just the prologue to what lies ahead, with a light concoction of strings and cymbals blending seamlessly into the altogether richer track “A Mercy Kill.”

A Mercy Kill

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In fact, the album is best treated as a continuous long player as this really allows one to become enveloped with the depth of sound Skelton succeeds in conveying.  The listener can tune his ear to one of the plethora of stringed instruments on display and have an equally satisfying experience upon repeat listen when focussing on another. Each instrument embodies a personality of its own and as each track develops so does the character of the individual sounds.

In truth however, it really is the coming together of all these sounds that makes this album stand in such high measure. For as with any great play, film or novel, having a host of great characters is only justified with a strong narrative direction and Crow Autumn in its entirety provides just that.

Mountains Ash

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Each bar of music is a delicate poetry, which over the course of the album builds into the two mammoth, standout tracks “Mountains Ash” and “The River.” “Mountain Ash” offers the album’s first true sense of character development, supported in the background by percussion and a variety of other stringed sounds, the first hint of an auditory motif is formed by a delicate cello melody.

By the time “Mountain Ash” has reached its crescendo and morphed into “The River,” this motif is firmly in the mind of the listener and as this track develops and grows so does the story behind the album. By the albums end, all sounds accumulate into a layering of intense emotion, and removing oneself from this detailed escapism is certainly a challenge.

Leaves

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In conclusion, “Crow Autumn” underlines Richard Skelton’s significance to the modern classical scene. Here is a composer truly at one with his medium.  He does not just craft beauty with his ability to play multiple instruments, but also has the skill in forming a narrative coherence between them. An auteur in the truest sense, as both listeners and critics alike we are fortunate to observe his creations come to life during the time in which we live our own. – Review by Josh Atkin for Fluid Radio

Purchase from Richard here
Purchase from Tompkins Square here
Purchase from Experimedia here

www.tompkinssquare.com
www.myspace.com/abrokenconsort