A Review for all hold hands and off we go by
Grey Malken/Hare and the Moon (Active Listener 2017)
Hampshire artist Keith
Seatman beckons us to return to his spooked, analogue world with his fifth
album 'All Hold Hands And Off We Go', the follow up to 2015's masterful folk
flecked slice of electronic pastoralism 'A Rest Before A Walk'. With a back catalogue
of haunted gems as well as being the architect behind the highly recommended
Test Transmission mixes, Seatman is quietly cementing a reputation as one of
the foremost and most influential of electronic explorers in the inhabited by
fellow travelers Belbury Poly, The Advisory Circle and Concretism. 'All Hold
Hands And Off We Go' more than cements this; this is possibly Seatman's finest
yet and an album which seems to unveil more depth, detail and riches upon each
successive encounter.
The brief ominous hum and
distant chatter of voice that opens 'A Lighthouse Might Look Long' provides a
startling and pleasingly disorientating beginning to proceedings before the
driven and urgent synth stomp of 'All Hold Hands And Off We Go' accelerates the
listener into a metallic and neon filled dream. Electronic drumbeats propel the
whirling strings and twisted carnivalesque keys and chimes; both exhilarating
and disconcerting this ably sets out Seatman's stall and leaves some other
'hauntology' or electronica acts seem tame and plodding in comparison.
'Skipping Rope' goes even further down the rabbit hole, a descending synth
motif merges with a children’s' song, music boxes and clattering percussion to
create a truly spectral and ghost filled vision that begs repeat listening;
nightmares have rarely sounded quiet so delicious. Next, 'Mr Metronome' eases
the pace to a stately, dystopian glacial grandeur, strings framing vocalist
Douglas E Powell's breathtaking performance; fans of John Foxx, should
immediately seek this out. Should an alternative soundtrack to Ben Wheatley's
'High Rise' be needed then he need look no further; this is both chilling and
addictive. 'Left behind, Lost Or Dropped' screams into view, propelled by
insistent keys and increasingly frantic drumbeats, it's melody (as Seatman's
seem to) getting under the listener’s skin and into the imagination; this music
conjures visuals like almost no other. Next, 'Four Steps At A Time' shrouds its
glistening melodies in a cosmic wind, echoes from a past within the present
ricocheting and returning around the steady electric beat. Haunting and
curiously uplifting, this track exemplifies the layers and careful construction
involve din Seatman's mini symphonies, there is so much going on here that
repeated listens are ably rewarded. 'Odd In A Nightcap and Cup' posits
backwards effects amidst synthetic voices and analogue bleeps and whirrs before
an organ harmony plucked straight from some decaying old Hollywood film hovers
into view; this music is filled with ghosts. 'Tap Tap' is a foreboding slice of
future sock; rasping keyboards and a colossal sounding drums give an indication
perhaps of what Black Sabbath might have sounded like in alternate universe had
they formed with a battery of Korg synths rather than conventional instruments.
'Boxes With Rhythms In' returns Douglas E Powell to the helm for an album
highlight, a shimmering jewel of a song, banks of strings and keys creating a
processional march of no small power. The album concludes with 'Of salt And
candy', a children’s' nursery rhyme resonating against electronic howls and
gusts; an ending befitting the otherworldly nature of what has come before.
This is a masterclass in atmosphere and mood but
also in melody and song craft; Seatman has composed an album that lingers long
after it has finished, it leaves its own ghosts behind and delightfully so.
This is essential listening but don't stop here; seek out Seatman's earlier
albums for more treasures. Available now from KS Audio on CD and as a download
from Bandcamp
Grey Malken (Hare and the Moon 2017)
