Downes Braide Association - Halcyon Hymns

 A Paean To A Lost Life

21 years in to the new century, almost fifty years since "Close To The Edge." is it not ridiculous to expect new triumphs, envelopes to be genuinely pushed, great new dawns?

And yet "Skyscraper Souls," Downes Braide Association previous work emerged out of my lap top in amongst the sky scrapers of Abu Dhabi and did just that. The title track offered four beautiful impressions welded together into a glorious whole and took you on a journey and finally  opened out into a beautiful elegiac finale. I really did feel we had some thing greater than the past and principally because it spoke to me then, now. 

So would Christopher and Geoffrey follow their suite length rockophonic with a double CD exploring the mysteries of life?  Breath easy this music is progress but in its soundscapes, its performances and not merely ..longer.

Love Among The Ruins. 

The spoken narrative sets the scene we are going to go backwards and find the myths and heroes that were the back cloth of the memories expressed here and gave those memories their colour, their patination. 

Musically we have an uplifting strumming guitar, then some lesliefied keyboard sounds and someone plucks a string or two on the Bass. Oh Yes. 

Then a nagging arpeggio aiding the statuesque triumphant march we have begun and Mr Braide comes sailing in over the top. This music is in no hurry, it's not edgy frenetic, their is a lovely slowed down section where he is waiting for his lover and she storms in with the most beautiful sky reaching guitar solo full of passion and emotion, one sheds a tear or two. To find love in amongst all this dysfunction what hope!

The nagging riff the crooning guitar and the voice teasing the musical forces around it, beautiful. However as it fades away one realises in one sense it is deceptively simple.

King of the Sunset

A curious percussive entry and then the scene setting of the physical beauty of the location. "Vast open sky, pink clouds hang heavily sun lays low..." Once established it celebrates echoes of the past, asks questions and Mr Braide is joined by what I thought to begin with was Marc Almond but its David Langdon, the latter's Baritone flirting with Chris's Tenor. Geoff's repeating chords here, using something which sounds like a violin, are gorgeous. This is the right side of mawkishness and in comes that man on the banjo great great emotional guitar solo not macho but full of passion. The piece eases back and then a massive surprise it sounds like Jimmy Page brought back from the "Battle of Evermore" a lovely Mandolin interlude and gorgeous strings from G.D. Now this is what I call music which progress's. Some one winds up a Who like smash on the guitar and again and then lots of exquisite screaming on an electric and then stop. Brilliant.

Your Heart Will Find The Way 

Typical DBA intro big open voice and then a great piece of funk emerges I dance to this across the Beach, up the Hillside over the mountains of Paradise. "Your heart will find away." Lovely rapid fire chorus's from the ladies. "Over the mountains and over the waves... then onwards great dancing bass and then the Guitarist, give the man a Oscar. "A Person of Guitar Greatness, colour unknown." Some lovely things shoot from one side of the mix to the other, a harpsichord tinkle and then we just get down and party. Someone hits the top of the kit (Tom Toms?) and then we slow down again and the ghost of Anthony Phillips on something which might be a 12 string. Wow DBA do early Genesis.

Holding the Heavens 

Starts where the previous song finished off lovely pastoral sub Genesis intro that Leslie Keyboard and then another switch to anthem mode. "Now we are here holding the heavens," indeed. I love Chris's nuanced performance here anthemic and big but also capable of controlling the upward flourishes. Again propelled by some nice rotating guitar. "So where will you go from here when your holding the heavens?" A good question. Again the return of that Genesis string feel before we ride through the march. Love the narrative as it emerges over the top giving context and then finally a gorgeous worldless chorus. 

Beachcombers.     

Less introspective more fun almost Manhattan Transfer with the block unison vocal and that Bass gets plucked in the grand tradition of random but not random at all. The ideas are repeated and then our guitarist sweeps in and ascends leaving the densely packed harmonies to play out. 

Warm Summer Sun.

Begins full of pathos, On this piece Chris reminds me of Colin Blunstone. Lovely late Beach Boys call and response from his lead vocal. Then Marc comes in. I have never really appreciated how good a singer he is this is a great duet. This is a piece which also emphasis's another of Geoff's great attributes he is a wonderful orchestrator without having to offer any distractions. The consummate team player. 

Today 

A simple ballad and when the chorus comes in I am reminded of Reg Dwight. Indeed the guitar inserts are a dead ringer and then a narrative coda before a nice traditional guitar solo pushed by vocal flourishes. The ending giving it that extra gravitas and sense of band width and takes it away from being someone else song.   

Hymn To Darkness 

This piece is invested in so much emotion and even as I write I know its the perfect narrative for what the world is living through. "We'll sing a hymn to darkness and put the past to sleep." Beautiful Man Tran chorus which Chris works over. This is sophisticated late night music which very quickly fades, the message to me is this is unfinished business which indeed it is. 

She'll be Riding Horses.

After the tentative questioning of the previous piece this is much more certain, up beat, celebratory lovely echoing vocal. Great repetition with all kinds of forces used to give it extra layers finishing with a tiny acoustic guitar cadenza.

Late Summer

"The sun descends with such cruel ease." "Why can't it last oh what a day don't let it end, promise you won't forget." A paean to love of place, of person, of experiences. Enchanting.      

Remembrance 

It opens with a summarising account of blessed summer and then musically shuffles, acoustic guitar playful spreading itself over the beat. Chris evoking the memory of all and wanting more, more than three score year and ten. Is that wise?

With the narrator constantly returning in one sense this is a Pop Tone Poem. The music languid drifting through time as the narrators, both spoken and sung, tell the story. The grown man sings about childhood distant lost. "We love we love, we love this dirty old ground and our hearts were racing." Musically the strummed string instrument begins to sound like a Balalaika/Bouzouki (ED apparently the Guitarist has played an Irish  Bouzouki in the past). The piece becomes hypnotic almost a raga. The narration now digs deep, articulating and observing the quintessential English Summer and all it yields but one senses that within this is the remembrance of something more personal of someone who made these memories possible and will not be forgotten. I like "Remembrance" because this is not an attempt to offer a big prog rock track to end but more a dreamlike tone poem which mines a more subtle but equally powerful experience. 

For me though the central musical/vocal message of this wonderful work is "Hymn to Darkness." It begins with a plaintive cry to banish the past heads into a highly sophisticated late night feel which epitomises/celebrates all the wonderful qualities of civilisation of society. its sophisticated, exciting and aspirational but it withers, fades like so much sand passing through our fingers a distant memory of a past.  


 


        

  




 

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