Rails, Witnesses - Forgive Me Sleeper But It's Time To Wake Up
STYLE: Rock RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 159622-23566 LABEL: Independent FORMAT: CD Album
Reviewed by Paul S Ganney
This is a very unusual CD, as you might expect from two Anglican priests describing themselves as "post-hardcore." It's kind of poetry over music, in that it's spoken word with musical backing. But it's not rap - it doesn't have the beats and nor does it have the rhymes. It reminds me more of Stewart Henderson's early stuff or maybe John Cooper Clarke but without the acerbic delivery (or wit, sadly) with "And The Sea Gave Up Its Dead" and "Slow News Day" being reminiscent of Jarvis Cocker's spoken deliveries on Pulp songs. The backing moves from metal (such as the opening "There Are Questions And Answers") through prog-folk (eg, "Hope") and silence ("Just A Moment") but is mostly metal. Generally the style of the backing suits the delivery (if not always the subject matter) and it all comes together on "Over The Hills Beyond The Skies" and "Slow News Day" probably the best, as the vocals start to merge with the backing: both tracks are very different showing the versatility and breadth of the material on offer. Lyrically (and the lyrics are all reproduced on the sleeve which is helpful and probably very important for a CD like this) it inhabits a Christian universe without being overly overt about it. It's an interesting CD, but I'm not sure how many more times I'll listen to it. I think I'd have preferred the vocals sung over this backing (as I did think that was generally very well done, especially the metal).
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