Thing of the Day

The Doomed Bird Of Providence

April 29th 2011

THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE – Will Ever Pray (Front And Follow) – We’re talking darkly reflective, solemnly uplifting dusty tunes that recount stories of of obscure colonial times. The Doomed Bird Of Providence take off on a gracefully slow exploration of early Australian history – ‘darkly probing its more abject and harrowing aspects’ 

Dramatically brooding folk music is what results: mysterious violins, slowly uncoiling accordions, bar room sea shanty embers of misery and wormy forebodings. Meticulous sounds, ‘cleaved from original historical source material', tales of Australia’s earliest days bathed in blood, salt, dark-deeds torn slowly limb from limb. Ship massacres, tunes flavoured with ammonia and vinegar, with maggots and admissions of guilt, tongues cut out with his own sword… if you don’t probe too far into that darkness then this is rather beautifully authentic slow-moving folk music, gloriously squeezed slow-motions of sound, warm glowing dusty textures and nothing left cold and still on a moonlit sea... probe a little deeper though, lift the dusty curtain, pull back the cover and there are those embers of dank dark scratching misery and violins sounding like decaying flies. 

Dark drama... Scott Walker, Nick Cave, Jacques Brel, Ennio Morricone; they make i Like Trains sound like a happy pre Dr. Beeching day trip to the candyfloss infested seaside. They sound wonderful, those maggots are almost enjoyable, those convicts on the fatal shore... and yes, Will Ever Pray may all get just a little too gloomy at times, you might feel the need to step away until later. There will be a later though, there are those returning pieces of the moon and this is as delightful as dusty laments of death and degeneracy and the bringing forth of all that is disturbing, mysterious and tragic can get.     

Will Ever Pray was released on Front And Follow this week

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