Week 23 of an album a week for a year
Richard Barbieri - Stranger Inside
Hey everyone.
This weeks album was suggested to me by my friend John. It's Stranger Inside by Richard Barbieri.
Richard Barbieri is a musician I had listened to for many many years but not really known who he was. Originally in a band called Japan, he joined Porcupine Tree in 1993 and has been on every album since then. I can't say I've ever listened to Japan, but I have been a fan of Porcupine Tree since about 2005 when they released one of my favourite albums, Deadwing.
In Porcupine Tree, Richard often sits in the back of the mix. He plays synth and keyboards and creates the atmosphere that makes Porcupine Tree what it is. He's very present, I love what he brings to the band, but he's not as instantly recognisable as Steven Wilson, who is out the front playing guitar and singing. Dare I say it, apart from Steven Wilson and the drummer Gavin Harrison, I couldn't have told you who else was even in the band. Shit by me.
Anyway, I give you this background so you know that this album is one full of synths, soundscapes and textures, and it's one that I really enjoyed*. Once again, I gave it far more than the 5 minimum listens (I'm over 25 listens truth be told) and I loved the feeling I would get walking into my room, putting this album on, and creating a little sanctuary.
The album starts off with Cave, an intense sound that grabs you from the start. There's an edge to this song, a menacing undertone with distorted vocals and fantastic drumming. Sometimes synths can sound quite cheesy to my ears but I didn't find that with this song (or album) at all. There's sections of this song that are gentle, and it brings to my mind an image of wandering around a jungle disorientated and lost.
All Fall Down is much calmer and down tempo, with double bass and a jazz feel to it. There's cut up and manipulated vocals through it that might be saying all fall down, but it's hard to say. This isn't a typical song with lyrics, Richard has gotten vocal samples then twisted and manipulated them, but they sit in the back of the mix rather than the front. They are just another instrument rather than a focal point.
Hypnotek is the song that my friend originally suggested as checking out. It's got a dark edge to it, a sound that envelopes you and keeps you cosy but also taunts you with scattered vocal samples and dirty synths. It's got a feeling of 'breaking through' around 4:30, and kicks things up a notch before fading into a really nice place by the end.
Byzantium was one of my favourite tracks. It starts off pretty mellow, just a synth and some distorted percussion sounds, but around 2:30 it kicks in with tremolo'd vocal samples and interesting melody lines running over it all. I don't know what this genre of music is, as I don't listen to much electronic music, but I like it. It's a real vibe, and I love how the song slowly evolves.
Decay has a sadness to it that is palpable. It's sparse yet moving. Made up of gentle piano over ambient textures, it fits in really well on the album. Unlike a lot of other songs on the album I wouldn't put it on in the background of a party, but it's got it's place.
Abyssyn is the opposite of Decay. After a slow fade in there's a beat and a rhythm to this song that makes you want to move and dance. There's tremolo sampled vocals and it really gets interesting with some of the complex samples and rythyms, a little bit like Byzantium. If they were siblings, Bysantium would be the stoned, calmer brother, and Abyssyn has taken a bunch of ecstacy and is dancing on tables with randoms.
Morphia is another track that creates an atmosphere rather than sounding like a traditional song. The reverb'd drums and gentle bass catch you and lower you down into a comfortable space. The only issue I have with this one is there's a synth or a horn that sounds kind of... just a bit jarring to me around the 2:50 - 3:20 mark. But then something else comes in and it's a much nicer melody, and the song evolves.
Retina Blur has an interesting sound to it that I resonated with, right from the start this one always stood out to me. In the background there's a sound that's a bit like mechanical breathing noises, with this eerie melody gliding through it all. It slowly builds into something and the rhythm kicks in around 2 minutes in, but to my ears, the real magic of this song is everything before then.
Stranger Inside is kind of... forgettable truth be told. It's sparse, the main theme is a piano playing against a background of different sounds fading in and out of the mix, but nothing happens compared to the rest of the album. There are no percussive instruments in it, and while there is rhythm, it's not like the rest of the album. Even the track Decay has delayed samples that give a sense of movement. This is more experimental, and while I don't mind experimental music, I don't know if the album is made stronger because of this song. It seems even stranger when you consider that it's the title of the album, but perhaps it's the stranger inside the whole thing.
All in all, I quite enjoyed this album. There's a few parts that I really loved, and some that were good but not great. I'd come back to it for sure, and I think overall I'd give it 4 out of 5 fingers.
The year so far
Week 19 - Chrystabell and David Lynch
*I have to say, initially I really wanted to listen to an album with lyrics. I've had a lot of instrumental weeks recently and last week Turtle Skull was fantastic; I felt like I wanted another week with something to grab onto. My mate Scott suggested Led Zeppelins IV, but also adding the song No Quarter to it at the end because 'that track is great and should be on that album too'. I listened through and he's right, there's some great music on IV (and I hadn't heard No Quarter before and it too is a great song) but I feel like half of Zeppelin's IV I have listened to a shit load, and there's only a song or two that I don't know well. I'll listen to it more at some point in future, but I really want albums that I only know two or three songs on at most.