| Monday, October 24th 2011 - 10:33:16 PM | |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source: | www.whammo.com.au [defunct] |
| Review or Comment: | One of the beauties of creativity is its ability to morph with the style of others to form a unique blend: a new voice, a new sound. The travel-weary Marty Willson-Piper has combined forces with Dare Mason and the result is a whimsical journey, both geographically and musically. Sparks Lane has no fixed address - its lyrics drift across countries and seas - but cohesion is achieved with the subtle arrangements, the respect for dynamics and the ability to communicate the wandering subject matter. Willson-Piper's voice is so clean and true, only retaining the odd imperfection to prove its personality and the conversational tone adds to the 'thereness' achieved on Sparks Lane. The towering layers of melody on "My Museum" provide a highlight but this LP rarely demands attention, preferring instead to wait for you to join in. Musically, the focus is cruisy and country paced but instrumentally, Sparks Lane successfully combines classical, electronic and folk elements without sounding contrived: every instrument finds its perfect place within each track. It may be in the form of the shuffling beats found on "Ask Again" or the distorted build-up of "Things To Do And Be," but diversity simply adds colour to the music of Noctorum, never distracting the listener from the strength of this release: the songs. |
| Tuesday, September 26th 2006 - 12:27:03 PM | |
| Name: | Wynkin de Worde |
| Review or Comment: | Serendipity brought me to this CD Sparks Lane. I found it in a dodgey shop in Bergerac France that sells stuff past its sell by date, scrappy Chinese cheapo goods and bankrupt stock.
The CD was brand new and still wrapped. I paid €1.50 which I had to borrow. I like to buy CDs I have never previously heard and this is a real find - and it gets better as the CD continues. I have discovered Béla Fleck and Frédérick Rousseau in the same way this year - my life is becoming complete... Well worth more than €1.50. Buy it NOW! |
| Sunday, January 29th 2006 - 04:37:33 PM | |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source: | Sean Koepenick, Ear Candy (www.earcandymag.com), October 2003 |
| Review or Comment: | Noctorum, "Sparks Lane" (Heyday Records)
Even though the name Noctorum is new, the sound will immediately pop a light bulb in your head-who is this? It is actually Marty Willson-Piper, lead guitarist of The Church. But this CD is not a solo release-it is a project with Dare Mason, a musician/producer who has collaborated with the band in the past. Marty wrote all the lyrics, and Dare only sings lead on one track, but OK-whatever works. The CD starts off with the lilting "Hey There"-Marty is still as melancholy about life as ever-"I don’t have a television or a telephone/because I need to spend my life alone." "My Museum" is a haunting track, filled with the lush instrumentation that Church fans are used to hearing-"you are a luxury, a poison a drug/and I don’t know how to unplug"- Marty sings as multi-tracked guitars chime away in the background. Noctorum's best song comes midway through the record, and it really would not have been out of place on The Church's Metropolis. "High As A Kite" is bright, poppy and actually fairly mesmerizing. In a perfect world you would hear this every day on the radio-but instead we're lucky enough to get the new Nickelback song. Marty varies the formula a little bit on "Ask Again"-throwing in a spoken word-Lou Reed type vocal over a funky drum beat. Marty even has the nerve to have not one-but two songs with French titles-(even Sting didn't have the guts to put more than one French song on Ghost In The Machine) but we won't hold that against him. Noctorum should please any fans of dark, atmospheric guitar rock, with lyrics that question life and its intricacies. Review by Sean Koepenick |
| Wednesday, July 20th 2005 - 11:56:03 PM | |
| Name: | fip |
| Review or Comment: | Excellent! And full lyrics are printed in the booklet. The track order flows well. I think most everyone would enjoy this one.
"Hey There" is a nice gentle opener. Makes you picture Marty walking around Europe picking up women. "Ask Again" is the stand-out for me - Marty speak-sings this one about driving around lost in Liverpool(?). Any wonder guys don't ask directions? Great sounds and samples (are those the slow-mo helicopters from Apocalypse Now?). "Things To Do And Be" lyrically borders on annoying (just reading off a list of things) but the music seriously rocks as hard as anything any Church member has been involved with (and lasts over 6 minutes). Dare admirably sings lead on "A Girl In Every Graveyard" (mournful song of loss). "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" is another long rocker to end the album... with a flute! Looking forward to the next Noctorum release. Mike F. |
| Monday, April 19th 2004 - 09:17:32 PM | |
| Name: | Random Fan |
| Review or Comment: | Stumbled onto this band and I found I really liked their work. Favourite song is "Hey There". |
