Labels: Communion Records
Review by: Chris Bress
The hunt for Tower Recordings material has been a desperate and familiar search for me and a friend, so to actually find one of their records was a pleasure in itself. The reasons for the desperation were solely based on the players whom I have pretty much always enjoyed in other groups or on their solo excursions. The large collective comprise of Matt Valentine, otherwise known as MV, P G Six, Helen Rush, Tim Barnes, Samara Lubelski, S Freyer esq, Andre Vida and the man of the moment Dean Roberts.
The Tower Recordings explore folk music whilst not being afraid of veering off into semi-freak out whirls or Sun City Girls-esque wierdness. The opening track is the longest, and the weirdest, which has pattering drums not too dissimilar to Jim White of the Dirty Three. The singing is like a countrified Animal Collective with less of their summer pop noodlings. The second track is layered with beautiful vocals (which sound a lot like the female from Espers, and, it might be her) and strange guitar melodies and flutes pouched from a 60s folk record from Winchester. The most immediate piece is “Ibiza within you” that features classic Incredible String band guitar duelling with a very retrospective feel.
Although most of the record seems to hark back to a time long gone the band still sound, at times, contemporary and relevant. This is definitely one of those records that was worth the effort.