A tenner says I can get
through this review without using the word Metheny or any related adjectives.
This is the first work
I’d heard by Tom Ollendorff, though Conor Chaplin is known as a character in
the Laura Jurd Universe and has visited the north east as part of a number of
bands over the years.
This album is one of two halves. It opens well with the title song which is a showcase for each musician to show their chops. After a rippling solo Ollendorff comps behind Chaplin’s bass, with Michele’s drums skittering and splashing cymbals in support. The problem then is that neither Spring or Not In These Days generate much of interest and Etude 1 feels like an intellectual exercise.
At this point I was starting to consider the eternal dichotomy between art and craft as this felt like a well made but emotionally dry album. However, the next track, XY, just has more snap that anything that’s gone before. The bass is pushing and pulsing as if impatient at the plodding of the previous tracks and the others feed off the energy generated.
The sole cover, Autumn in New York
stands out as a stronger melody than the Ollendorff compositions. It’s a
delicate thing, with rising and falling bass figures and soft drums behind
Ollendorff’s most romantic playing on the album. It’s wistful and yearning and
you can almost see the leaves turning. Aare
has some of the urgency of XY and
again the bass is in the driver’s seat, though Michel’s drum fills are more
prominent and he solos on this track and also enjoys a few call and response
exchanges with the guitarist. This energy doesn’t persist into Etude 3 which could
be a lullaby. The closer These Days
is an ethereal fluid weightless piece of magic from a fantasy film.
To maintain the standard
of the second half of this album, Ollendorff clearly needs more of his own XY Factor. (And no mention of Pat
Metheny. Someone owes me a tenner.)
A
Song for You is released on May 7 and is available from
Fresh Sound Records or through the usual outlets.
Dave
Sayer
A Song for You; Spring; Etude 1; Not in These Days; XY; Autumn in New York; Aare; Etude 3; These Days.
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