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Product Description
Review
In Klootworld, even the pub is world-weary–it's called the Brink. And the Manchester trio have been propping up the bar for too long now. A decade, in fact, for the best-kept secret Up North since Elbow threw off the shackles of public apathy. It's not been all frustrating, though; Germany loves them. Though the idea that the good folk of, say, Dusseldorf, prefer Kloot's gruff, nail-bitten and quintessentially Northern song more than the British isn't just bizarre, it's alarming.
Can the trio's fifth album, Sky at Night, change things? Guy Garvey, who produced Kloot's 2001 debut album Natural History, returns to do the honours again, assisted by his Elbow bandmate Craig Potter, so fame by association could rub off. Proof, from 2003's I Am Kloot, also returns, albeit re-recorded (though you'd never know), most likely because it was never official released as a single back then, despite a promo video starring Christopher Eccleston. The opening Northern Skies, however, is the new single, with another Eccleston cameo in the video. Fame by association again?
Clearly, frontman John Bramwell isn't a man for turning. Sky at Night simply distils and expands all Kloot's lovely strengths, from his taut, elegant tunes to resolutely bittersweet lyrics. "See the sand, the moon, the stars that shine a light and say / Well, they'll do alright for me," goes Northern Skies, but if Bramwell sometimes flirts with soap-opera sentiment, just like Garvey, you instinctively trust the sound of his expressive, swarthy croon.
So it's business as usual, but even at this 10-years-plus juncture, Kloot still scale the heights, especially the ballads. The Moon Is a Blind Eye is as pale and silvery as moonlight, I Still Do is equally bare and heart-wrenching, and To the Brink (the aforementioned boozer, where, "there's no rule of thumb, so on the counter I strum with my fingers / and I adore the surprise of tomorrow's sunrise, so I linger") has thin, weaving strings that lend a wistful 1940s charm–you can almost taste the cig smoke and amber ale. But Kloot can kick up the dust, too. Radiation's suspenseful intro gives way to see-sawing strings and a blast of euphoria to rival Elbow's One Day Like This, while soul-blues slowburner Lately features Garvey on gusty harmonies.
Really, if this lot can't boost Kloot's fortunes at home, they should give up or just move to Dusseldorf, whichever is less traumatic.
--Martin Aston
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CD Description
Following 2007's I Am Kloot Play Moolah Rouge, the album further goes to cement John Bramwell's status as one of the most talented songwriters in the country. Proud Manchester men they may be, but the record is infused with an almost Parisian elegance. Tracks like "It's Just The Night" and "The Moon Is A Blind Eye" reveal a Gainsbourg style of sophistication, but are still punctuated with their own inimitable Northern soul.
Opening with the warm, rolling "Northern Skies", it's followed by "To The Brink", a decadently faded show tune, with celestial strings balancing delicately against the kind of poignant musings more typically found at the bottom of a brandy glass. The theatrical instrumentation of "Lately" is lush and impressive, whilst remaining explicit and honest. Renowned harpist Marie Lionheardt provides a delicate accompaniment to the moving narrative in "I Still Do", while "Radiation" touches upon the Beatles' more psychedelic moments of orchestration.
A songwriter's songwriter, Bramwell is one of our finest wordsmiths and counts Pete Doherty and and Elbow's Guy Garvey amongst his many fans. Having produced their hugely acclaimed debut album "Natural History" Garvey, alongside bandmate Craig Potter, has returned to produce and mix this sublime ten track collection. With Sky at Night, expect Kloot's cult status to soar skywards.
Opening with the warm, rolling "Northern Skies", it's followed by "To The Brink", a decadently faded show tune, with celestial strings balancing delicately against the kind of poignant musings more typically found at the bottom of a brandy glass. The theatrical instrumentation of "Lately" is lush and impressive, whilst remaining explicit and honest. Renowned harpist Marie Lionheardt provides a delicate accompaniment to the moving narrative in "I Still Do", while "Radiation" touches upon the Beatles' more psychedelic moments of orchestration.
A songwriter's songwriter, Bramwell is one of our finest wordsmiths and counts Pete Doherty and and Elbow's Guy Garvey amongst his many fans. Having produced their hugely acclaimed debut album "Natural History" Garvey, alongside bandmate Craig Potter, has returned to produce and mix this sublime ten track collection. With Sky at Night, expect Kloot's cult status to soar skywards.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Well done the Financial times is all I can say. It's not a paper that is regularly posted through the letterbox but an off chance reading of it at a public library turned up a short review of "I am Kloot's" new album "Sky at Night" which ended with the plea that it is "time surely for this Manchester band of everymen to have their day in the sun too". The FT is emphatically right "Sky at night" is a revelation and an album of consummate song-writing and big songs. Unbelievably this is the fifth album for this three piece Mancunian band who comprise John Bramwell (guitar/vocals), Peter Jobson (bass)and Andy Hargreaves (drums). They formed in 1999 and sadly over that period have been so far below the radar that a Lockheed Blackbird would have had trouble spotting them. Dear old John Peel tried his best to promote the band but we didn't listen properly.
"I am Kloot's" predicament has some similarities to there mentors and great chums in Elbow who also struggled to gain their rightful recognition for far too many years until they unleashed the wonders of the "Seldom Seen Kid" one of the greatest albums of the last or any decade for that matter. Since 2001 "I am Kloot" have had a big Elbow connection with Guy Garvey producing their debut and for their latest Garvey has enlisted fellow band mate Craig Potter to help at the mixing desk. It appears that the newly found "Elbow Magic" has rubbed off and resulted in another brilliant Kloot album but one this time that represents a real leap in consistency and maturity.
Clearly the two big songs on here intended to draw people in are the opener "Northern Skies" currently subject to blanket playing on Radio 2 and the penultimate song the jaw dropping "Radiation". Both songs are very different with the former having a countryish feel and makes for an ideal single with a brilliant video featuring Christopher Eccleston to accompany it. "Radiation" starts off as altogether more sparse and beautiful affair that then breaks into huge almost ELO like orchestration midway and superb vocals by Bramwell where he repeats the lines "Everything we ever thought, we'd ever want, me and you, well it just came through" over a pounding backdrop. In short it's a storming song and massive highlight. Yet my true favourite's on the album are the slow burners like "I Still do" which is achingly beautiful and destined for classic status, equally the Richard Hawley style piano ballad "Its just the night" has a lonely desolation and sadness which captures perfectly a gin soaked evening which has gone wrong. "The moon is a blind eye" pulls on every emotional pulse in your body, while "Lately" is slightly bluesy but the huge wall of backing harmonies are pure "Abbey Road" and the late Dr Winston O Boogie would have loved to tackle this head on. Finally "Proof" seems to have been on every album they have recorded including a more raw version on the 2006 John Peel Sessions. This newer version is a gentler affair but remains a great song.
All the songs on here are class and "Sky at night" is the perfect title for this album. Walk out and look at those bright stars, ignore the light rain, breath out into the cold night air and reflect; then ask yourself when was the last time you last heard an album this good?
"I am Kloot's" predicament has some similarities to there mentors and great chums in Elbow who also struggled to gain their rightful recognition for far too many years until they unleashed the wonders of the "Seldom Seen Kid" one of the greatest albums of the last or any decade for that matter. Since 2001 "I am Kloot" have had a big Elbow connection with Guy Garvey producing their debut and for their latest Garvey has enlisted fellow band mate Craig Potter to help at the mixing desk. It appears that the newly found "Elbow Magic" has rubbed off and resulted in another brilliant Kloot album but one this time that represents a real leap in consistency and maturity.
Clearly the two big songs on here intended to draw people in are the opener "Northern Skies" currently subject to blanket playing on Radio 2 and the penultimate song the jaw dropping "Radiation". Both songs are very different with the former having a countryish feel and makes for an ideal single with a brilliant video featuring Christopher Eccleston to accompany it. "Radiation" starts off as altogether more sparse and beautiful affair that then breaks into huge almost ELO like orchestration midway and superb vocals by Bramwell where he repeats the lines "Everything we ever thought, we'd ever want, me and you, well it just came through" over a pounding backdrop. In short it's a storming song and massive highlight. Yet my true favourite's on the album are the slow burners like "I Still do" which is achingly beautiful and destined for classic status, equally the Richard Hawley style piano ballad "Its just the night" has a lonely desolation and sadness which captures perfectly a gin soaked evening which has gone wrong. "The moon is a blind eye" pulls on every emotional pulse in your body, while "Lately" is slightly bluesy but the huge wall of backing harmonies are pure "Abbey Road" and the late Dr Winston O Boogie would have loved to tackle this head on. Finally "Proof" seems to have been on every album they have recorded including a more raw version on the 2006 John Peel Sessions. This newer version is a gentler affair but remains a great song.
All the songs on here are class and "Sky at night" is the perfect title for this album. Walk out and look at those bright stars, ignore the light rain, breath out into the cold night air and reflect; then ask yourself when was the last time you last heard an album this good?
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A mature, beautiful record. Each song's a little snapshot of a mans life. Honest and real. Fantastic arrangements, the 3 piece augmented by Guy Garvey's backing vocals, graceful string arrangements and sensitive atmospherics all there to enhance the poignancy of the storytelling.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I Am Kloot's failure to shift magatons of CDs is an enigma. They have churned out quality discs for the
best part of 10 years but that big breakthrough has never quite materialised. With this, their fifth album
proper, Kloot have gone for a bigger production and a change in direction. The use of strings and horns
has expanded the sound and johnny's voice is right at the edge of your speakers rather than its usual set
back position. Some quirky arrangements also set this apart from any other previous Kloot album which tend
to contain songs of the verse/chorus/middle 8 ilk. One change I am not enthralled by is how low pete jobsons
Bass guitar is in the mix? His bass lines are often wonderful and are integral to the Kloot sound. Having said that,
a 'different' album was required this time around as they have probably exhausted that rich formula that worked
so well on previous recordings. Another interesting thing about The Sky at Night is the lack of variation in tempo.
Its quite slow all the way through but who cares as long as its good music? All in all, a welcome addition to an
impressive back catalogue of intelligent indiepop. Indiepop? I always describe them as simon and garfunkel for the
noughties but with only 1 singer. Its all good.
best part of 10 years but that big breakthrough has never quite materialised. With this, their fifth album
proper, Kloot have gone for a bigger production and a change in direction. The use of strings and horns
has expanded the sound and johnny's voice is right at the edge of your speakers rather than its usual set
back position. Some quirky arrangements also set this apart from any other previous Kloot album which tend
to contain songs of the verse/chorus/middle 8 ilk. One change I am not enthralled by is how low pete jobsons
Bass guitar is in the mix? His bass lines are often wonderful and are integral to the Kloot sound. Having said that,
a 'different' album was required this time around as they have probably exhausted that rich formula that worked
so well on previous recordings. Another interesting thing about The Sky at Night is the lack of variation in tempo.
Its quite slow all the way through but who cares as long as its good music? All in all, a welcome addition to an
impressive back catalogue of intelligent indiepop. Indiepop? I always describe them as simon and garfunkel for the
noughties but with only 1 singer. Its all good.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
It glitters
For fans of I am Kloot this mini-review will be wasted as you will doubtless have dived online or into your local store to buy this as soon as it was released. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Martin Lloyd
Where shall we go on that big, black night?
There's something about John Bramwell's voice that almost makes me crave listening to this album again and again. Read more
Published 11 months ago by M. Oxby
Atmospheric, poetic, a beautifully crafted album.
I have bought this album three weeks ago and I listen to it many times a day. It's a real gem and gets better with every listening. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jules
Under your skin..
I bought this album whilst looking for something new to listen to during an imminent stay in hospital because of a major op. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. Pj Morrison
Doesn't float my boat
I bought this on the basis of strong reviews but found it underwhelming. That doesn't make it no good, just not my thing.
Published 16 months ago by M. Block
Where Have These Guys Been Hiding?
WOW!! What an album... Found this band by chance when searching for the song that accompanied the SKY HD Autumn TV advert " Radiation" and am I glad I did! Read more
Published 18 months ago by A. Johnson
A real grower...
When I started this review I gave this album 3 stars, then I listened to it again and realised that it does grow on you and is probably worth the four stars I have eventually given... Read more
Published 19 months ago by M. Jackman
love this album
Can't believe that this band is not humungous - but maybe that's half the charm of them.
Fantastic album, great melodies, lyrics and production too (it has helped them... Read more
Fantastic album, great melodies, lyrics and production too (it has helped them... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mrs. K. O'Haire
The CD did not let me down and I love it!
Have enjoyed listening to the CD time and time again... Just love it.Sky At Night
Published 19 months ago by London SW
Sky at Night (Kloot).
I've heard 'Kloot' records a couple of times before and seen them support Elbow in the past. I'd heard the singles from this album so decided to give it a go! Read more
Published 19 months ago by St.
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