Reviews
Artist:Chris While And Julie Matthews
Album:Together Alone
Label:Fat Cat
Tracks:12
Website:http://www.circuitfatcat.co.uk/
Call me biased, but when an album featuring the current Fatea Female Vocalist Of The Year, Chris While, drops through the office letterbox, it's going to jump up a few places on the listening list.
"Together Alone" is the latest in a series of albums Chris has recorded with another Albion band member, Julie Matthews. It's a singing partnership that has brought both artists great recognition from their peers and public alike.
As with previous albums, both artists contribute tracks to the album as individuals as well as in collaboration with each other. Matthews contributes the lions share, something that may be a legacy of While's solo cut last year. It's not something that affects the quality of the album, but definitely noteworthy.
It's Matthews that writes, what are for me the two strongest tracks on the album, "Welcome To Your Life" and "Take These Bones". Two songs that highlight the songwriting depth brought to the album and the variety of subject matter.
"Welcome To Your Life" has Julie taking the lead as far as vocal duties are concerned and is a gentle, almost lullaby welcoming a new baby into the world and into it's life. A new baby is the gateway to so much, mainly questions and Matthews simple song poses some of the what's as the new life is welcomed to the world.
By contrast, "Take These Bones" covers a more complex, more emotive and more political subject, the comfort women drafted into sexual slavery for the Japanese army during WW2. While takes the lead on this track, but it really is the choir of 250 voices that gives this song it's power.
As well as looking at the personal aspects of the slavery the quarter of a million, mainly Korean women were forced to endure, the song also focuses attention on the lack of apology and compensation from the Japanese government
For a duo that arose from the Albion Band, it is perhaps a touch ironic that both artists seem to be most at home performing songs with an Americana feel. It's something that seems to come naturally to them. Alternately maybe we've got used to describing some of the singer/songwriter material as Americana as it seems to be so difficult to apply a tag to it on this side of the Atlantic.
While & Matthews have brought in a great team of musicians to work with them. It gives the songs a musical depth to match the lyrical one and gives the album a very rounded feel. You feel that you're listening to two artists who want to make sure you have the best of what they've got to offer.
It's also a very uptempo album, it's got a very natural rhythm to it that is far more than the beat delivered by the percussion and bass. No particular place to go, but it's not going to dawdle and not get there.
If you're talking about the tone of the album, that would be impossible to complete without talking about the quality of voice that carries the album from start to finish.
Both singers have well established careers outside of this duo, the vocals they can, and do, bring to any project of their own or with other musicians are amongst some of the best in English music today, together they become something really special.
All that really remains is for me to wholeheartedly recommend "Together Alone" to you.
Neil King