Wednesday 31 October 2012

Caught In The Wake Forever - Against A Simple Wooden Cross (2012)



This type of albums is an oddity even for this blog. But it is a local project and it deserve some attention.

Caught In The Wake Forever is the project of Fraser McGowan and this album has been recorded in his home. I have accidently walked through his street many times to and from a Tesco supermarket without knowing that one of the houses contained a good home studio or a good computer. The sound is actually excellent and gives home recording a new meaning.

We are not talking 110 piece symphony orchestra here though. The music is shoegaze, ambient and with Fraser's vocals coming out of the speakers as if he was sitting inside them. He is not. I have made sure of that (it carries a life sentence in this country to keep someone hostage inside a speaker cabinet). The sound is that good. The music is very personal. The album starts with a pretty untypical track for this album; Scottish Grief. A distorted samples filled doomy track. From there on in, Fraser's voice, piano and guitar takes over. That with some slightly distorted keyboards in the background.

The music is somber, shoegazing and very personal. For good and/or worse; you feel you get his soul spilled out from the speakers. It is full frontal attack personal and somber, this album.

Strangely enough, I like this album. I like the barren desolation it carries. Scottish Grief is a great track. The rest too is very good. My only gripe is the lack of some more great tracks and my unfamiliarity with this type of music. I have always been a fan of somber music though. I have always loved desolate landscapes more than typical rich in life landscapes. This album works on both those levels. It resonates with me.
This is a very good album which I recommend. Check it out on the link below. 

3.5 points

The album (Bandcamp)

No comments:

Post a Comment