Father Sculptor / Faith & Violence
Father Sculptor is certainly no guardian of the banal, but if you’re looking for a 1980s inspired music scene all over again, it must start here. An intertextual masterpiece!
Album Reviews | Released on IX Hispana Records
| By AP Childs
Father Sculptor
Faith & Violence
(IX Hispana Records)
*****
I’m sure all you pop kids are aware of the lay line that travels down the west side of this Island. Any drunken fool who knows his Daddy’s from his HP will happily rattle on about it for a year and a day. Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol. And with a bit of Cardiff thrown in for those of us who enjoy a bit of Charlotte Church. There’s a magical rotation of music between each of these fine cities, and for the time being at least the stars are in line and shining on dear old Glasgow.
All music takes on a little of what has come before. And as with most reminiscent pop, it is unclear whether artists achieve this by accident or by some kind of clever cut n paste design. While ace new Glasgow bands like Honeyblood, Holy Esque and Holy Mountain rattle a pop cage deeply entrenched in 70s or 90s guitar, this five-track EP from Father Sculptor reaches a similar kind of indie glory but stems from a far different place. The 1980s was a very different decade and contains a much deeper history (see recent death of a certain ex-prime minister). Faith & Violence is a definite aural name-check to that decade, or at least a post-modern nod. And with that it is certainly brilliant!
Immediately, opening track ‘Basilica’ delivers a layering of multi-tracked drums, a swathe of synth and finger picked rhythm guitar that immediately recalls the vibe and charisma of long lost indie label Postcards Records. But a straight-up comparison to the trailblazers of early 80s Glasgow would not be correct. The immediate difference on tracks like The Swim, Lowlands and Swallowed in Dreams is a slowed down and deeper groove. A thought out serenity lies behind the production and each track is lyrically emotive. The very clean and up-in-the-mix vocal of Thomas David brings to mind Roddy Frame, Josef K and even Billy McKenzie and somehow the record remains impossible to pin down to a definite source.
Track two, ‘Sault’ is the clear standout. It is dance music to wear a cool suit to. It kicks straight into the groove with big drums, a marauding marimba and driving funk bass line. Yes I did write the word MARIMBA (see early 80s Top of the Pops), and it does indeed maraud! But when the clean shine and semi-syncopated rhythm guitar joins the party, probably a Rickenbacker 330 or Gibson es-355 a la Johnny Marr, then for me at least this fine slice of 80s upbeat shine is complete.
In reality, the loaded drama of this record does belie any true comparison to what has come before. It is its own thing. Throughout, the lyrics pronounce not only mood, but great stories too. Father Sculptor is certainly no guardian of the banal, but if you’re looking for a 1980s inspired music scene all over again, it must start here. An intertextual masterpiece!
