![]() ![]() The esoteric, rural influences were replaced by a 50’s beat-group feel, still challenging and lyrical but somehow more urbane. The release of The Klaxon in 1993 saw the beginning of a new chapter for And Also The Trees. They were also the gateway to transatlantic audiences for the first time via a highly successful US tour in 1991. Subsequent albums The Millpond Years (1988), Farewell To The Shade (1989) and Green Is The Sea (1992) continued in this rich, creative, and influential vein elevating And Also The Trees to an almost mythical status particularly in France but also Germany, Belgium and Switzerland where their audiences have always shown great loyalty. Their fans became enraptured by the dramatic, poetic nature of their work. Those recordings reflected their early, post-punk roots, but it was with 1986’s Virus Meadow – an album of rich, pagan melancholy and disturbing laments – and the resulting European tours, that And Also The Trees truly found their own identity. The album caught the attention of John Peel for whom they recorded a session in 1984. Learning to play their instruments as they composed, their first recordings were raw and naive but powerful and original enough to attract the attention of The Cure who invited them to tour with them, (in 1980, 81 and 84) and who produced their self-released mini album ‘From under the hill’ (Robert Smith) and their first, self-titled, full album (Lol Tolhurst), released in 1983. Unlike more urban contemporaries such as PIL, Joy Division and The Gang Of Four, And Also The Trees were influenced almost exclusively by the landscape and history of the rural environment that surrounded them – an influence that has remained throughout their entire existence to this day. But whatever the method of achieving the results, in the end this album is All Beauty.Formed in 1979 by the brothers Simon and Justin Jones and Graham and Nicholas Havas in a small village in Worcestershire, England and inspired by the ideology of a still-developing post-punk movement, And Also The Trees from their very beginnings were different. All Melody is not actually all about melody, it is about the conveyed atmosphere and the worlds created through the music, where the melody is a building stone. It seems like this has become the formula for Nils Frahm, but one he insists on trying to explore from ever so slightly different angles every time he gets to it. And the closer “Harm Hymn” feasts on tenderness and easy-going relaxation. “Kaleidoscope” explores a slightly more haunting abstract setting. The title track, being easily the loudest, although that doesn’t say much, actually presents a vaguely danceable tune, although hidden behind walls of sophistication and calm. “Forever Changeless” explores a sorrowful state of isolation. “A Place” delves into more of a clergy, it would seem. ![]() Cuts like “Human Range” are reminiscent of some chilling wintery noir detective stories. The album also does a great job of setting up slightly different atmospheres for each track. Also, the extensive use of muted flute brings a lot of new way perspective. ![]() The distant harrowing, but surprisingly calming vocal murmurings are a great example. Perhaps a brief analysis of each track, or at least the highlights, is possible, but not much more than that.īut Nils does have a handful of surprises up his sleeve. And I am afraid that Nils has reached that point in his career, where all that could be said was said already, so one has to retract to simply saying: “This is a great album, as expected of Nils Frahm.” That sentence sums it all up. But when you become that consistent, you risk reducing people’s ability to define your work. He has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific and consistent ambient producers today and it’d be at the very least silly to deny his talents. Review Summary: The good kind of solitude.
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