Sorry for Laughing
Remember, You are an Actor
AUSTRIA KLANGGALERIE GG407 C.D. (2022)
The S4L story is one that really should be rubberstamped ‘strictly personnel’, inasmuch as this was initially a solo project brainstormed back in 1986 by Gordon H. Whitlow of U.S. avant-garde outfit Biota (née The Mnemonist Orchestra). Jesus Wept, his self-released cassette debut was followed some thirty-five years later by the excellent but misleading See it Alone (on Klanggalerie), in which the cast of one was seen to expand with the addition of Legendary Pink Dots c.e.o. Edward Ka-Spel and Martin Bates of Eyeless in Gaza. I’ve always had a lot of time for both the Dots and the Gaza-Men; the latter’s quintessentially British explorations into weird songcraft should really have racked up the same warm affection that say, The Cardiacs, have enjoyed since their passing. And as for Martin Bates: his soulful, full-on vocal delivery has blazed a fascinating trail over the past four decades or so. If he’s someone who’s passed you by, a perusal of his lengthy but rich back catalogue is surely overdue…
With Remember… , their latest lasering, the line-up has grown again, with the doctored/prepped guitars of Colorado-based Janet Feder complementing the haunting glow-in-the-dark trail left by ex L.P.D. violinist Patrick Q. Wright. As you’d expect though, with two vocalists with that much experience and emotive ability, it’s their show and as previous, it’s the songs that eat up much of the pie-chart. “Milk Wood (Polly’s Song)” interestingly, has words by the great Dylan Thomas and details, amid mournful swathes of reverb and the desolate trill of the tin whistle, Polly’s recounting of the tragic drowning of a former lover, that one memory etched deep and prone to playing on a continuous loop. Those sombre moods are also felt on “Mansions at Rest”. Though simpler and somewhat akin to a child’s nursery-rhyme in construction, it has a certain double-edged quality as the Ka-spelled lyric appear to suggest that the ‘real’ afterlife is some huge b & b where the ‘no visitors, no pets’ cliché paints a picture of a strict regime in which St. Peter has now been moved sideways during a recent office reshuffle.
“Soul Wanderer” and “Ravens Flying” seem to have immersed themselves in the world of seventies U.K. prog-folk. The former’s heartfelt Batesian vocal accompanied by banjo and dreamy atmospheres, triggers thoughts of the peerless C.O.B. and possibly even a smidgeon of Tir Na Nog. The latter’s corvid threat (and c.d.’s cover star?) reveals itself to be less threatening than imagined. The Swarbrick-like fiddle and heavenly choir successfully keeping the dark clouds of foreboding at bay by providing a back-drop for a love song like very few others.
Before I close, there’s a medium-sized question mark hovering over their moniker. I wonder…can Sorry for Laughing really be named after a 1981 single by Scottish new wave band Josef K ?? Someone? Anyone?