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Track Listings
| 1. Here It Begins |
| 2. Truth Only Smiles |
| 3. Bloodless Coup |
| 4. Longshore Drift |
| 5. Kalypso |
| 6. Future Perfect Tense |
| 7. Joy Maker Machinery |
| 8. There Will It End |
Product Description
Review
Nestling in the sizeable grey area between indie and experimentalism, we find Sweet Billy Pilgrim. With their second album, Twice Born Men, the trio of Tim Elsenburg, Anthony Bishop and Alistair Hamar provide another fascinating antidote to the falsehood and artifice prevalent in current pop music.
Staggering in like three lost souls sheltering from the raging storm, Sweet Billy Pilgrim create tiny symphonies in a vacuum. Twice Born Men - a loose concept about love - (''but not in a Barry White way'' Elsenburg has quipped) is a rewarding, if occasionally challenging listen.
Elsenburg's music is all about texture. Found sounds and clicks weave in and out of the mix. There is even - ahem - a tuned dishwasher on Kalypso. Longshore Drift rises and swells, snapping in and out of focus, while Joy Maker Machinery is an otherworldly ballad. But there are songs here, too - Truth Only Smiles is longing pop, evoking Talk Talk and the Beach Boys. Remarkable, too, is the album's closer, There It Will End; a hymn which features Elsenburg's voice overdubbed 30 times.
Similar to their debut record, 2005's We Just Did What Happened And No One Came, Twice Born Men sets its own space and time, demanding a listener's full attention. It revels in the peace it creates and sometimes destroys. Like the work it is sporadically reminiscent of, it's engrossing, out-of-step, difficult yet peculiarly gratifying.
Signed to David Sylvian's Samadhisound label, the delightful sleeve contains as much detail about the painting on it (by Tacita Dean) as the recording itself. If that floats your boat, you will love this record. --Daryl Easlea
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
CD
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I had this flagged as the only album on the Mercury shortlist that I thought I might be interested in listening to and then as I was completing an entire circuit of the M25 at about two in the morning (long story) a track came on the radio which saved me from torpor and a possible accident. As it finished, the reassuringly husky tones of Bob Harris informed me that it was Kalypso, a highlight of Twice Born Men but by no means the only gem on an album that bookies have given no chance of winning this evening - but when did they ever call this one correctly?
Taking their name from the central character in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five the band have been labelled as art-rock by some. There is certainly something experimental in their sound and in their instrumentation, the aforementioned Kalypso lists a 'tuned dishwasher' for instance, and the liner notes for this album almost say more about the cover art than the music contained within. The nautical theme of that chalk drawing runs throughout the album with the lyrics continually referencing images of ship and sailcloth, themes of journey and discovery.
Here It Begins opens with what sounds like a tolling bell but distorted and flickering like a scratched CD. A sampled voice talks of the joy of being on the move and a single guitar slowly picks out a melody with lots of other 'sounds' creating a fuller soundscape. Truth Only Smiles features the banjo playing of Anthony Bishop which features strongly on the album. Despite the soaring and sing-along chorus there's a dark heart to this tale 'With easy grace and needy hands/They murdered love's sweet circumstance/And calmly fashioned flawless alibis'.... Read more ›
Taking their name from the central character in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five the band have been labelled as art-rock by some. There is certainly something experimental in their sound and in their instrumentation, the aforementioned Kalypso lists a 'tuned dishwasher' for instance, and the liner notes for this album almost say more about the cover art than the music contained within. The nautical theme of that chalk drawing runs throughout the album with the lyrics continually referencing images of ship and sailcloth, themes of journey and discovery.
Here It Begins opens with what sounds like a tolling bell but distorted and flickering like a scratched CD. A sampled voice talks of the joy of being on the move and a single guitar slowly picks out a melody with lots of other 'sounds' creating a fuller soundscape. Truth Only Smiles features the banjo playing of Anthony Bishop which features strongly on the album. Despite the soaring and sing-along chorus there's a dark heart to this tale 'With easy grace and needy hands/They murdered love's sweet circumstance/And calmly fashioned flawless alibis'.... Read more ›
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I bought this album after reading the 5 star review in the Sunday Times. There are only a handful of these a year so I thought it worth a punt and I've been playing it pretty much non stop ever since.
Twice Born Men's opening track introduces a refrain of just a few notes played on electric guitar which is mirrored in the final track, There Will It End. For all the textures, layers and complexity of what lies between, this simplicity and immediacy of sentiment pervades the whole. Twice Born Men is a brilliantly complete record that is captivating, elemental and, at times, heart breaking. This is a piece of music that will stay with you.
The album is a voyage, full of yearning, of life and love, a sweetly melancholic journey brave enough to acknowledge the goodbyes we must make along the way. The lyrics are incredibly evocative, beautifully served by the album artwork, and the music unlike anything else I've heard - complex, unusual, melodious, discordant, exhilarating and mournful - all of these combining effortlessly without ever losing the album's narrative thread.
For me, what makes Twice Born Men so special is that the album achieves the very rare feat of maintaining intensity throughout - it creates its own realm of existence into which you are swept by the exquisite songwriting - so that when the record finishes and the journey is done you'll feel a little wiser and a little sadder - and a little bit unsure of what to do next. Thoroughly recommended.
Twice Born Men's opening track introduces a refrain of just a few notes played on electric guitar which is mirrored in the final track, There Will It End. For all the textures, layers and complexity of what lies between, this simplicity and immediacy of sentiment pervades the whole. Twice Born Men is a brilliantly complete record that is captivating, elemental and, at times, heart breaking. This is a piece of music that will stay with you.
The album is a voyage, full of yearning, of life and love, a sweetly melancholic journey brave enough to acknowledge the goodbyes we must make along the way. The lyrics are incredibly evocative, beautifully served by the album artwork, and the music unlike anything else I've heard - complex, unusual, melodious, discordant, exhilarating and mournful - all of these combining effortlessly without ever losing the album's narrative thread.
For me, what makes Twice Born Men so special is that the album achieves the very rare feat of maintaining intensity throughout - it creates its own realm of existence into which you are swept by the exquisite songwriting - so that when the record finishes and the journey is done you'll feel a little wiser and a little sadder - and a little bit unsure of what to do next. Thoroughly recommended.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The second album from this unassuming band.Repeated listens will reward the listener as the subtle nuances of Sweet Billys Sound becomes apparent.Tracks such as Bloodless Coup and Kalypso have an immediate impact but others such as "Joy Maker Machinery" and "There it will end" are crafty little bu**ers who creep up on you and catch you when you least expect it.It's an album to kick back and simply listen to whilst allowing your thoughts to drift.It's a great album for sure although no track quite matches the heights of "stars spill out of paper cups" from the 1st album.However that's akin to saying Queen never quite wrote a song as good after bohemian rhapsody. Apparently this album was made in a shed in the singers garden.I wonder if B&Q are missing a marketing opportunity here. Sheds of inspiration !
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
M.Hodgkinson is quite right. Sweet Billy Pilgrim have created
something quite special with their new album 'Twice Born Men'.
This is music of almost visionary intensity.
Subtle, elusive, mysterious and (at the end of it all)
strangely moving.
Messrs Elsenberg, Bishop and Hamer know how to catch a
good tune and run with it, although not necessarily in
the direction we might have anticipated. This continually
makes for some very nice surprises.
The unsettling narrative of opening track 'Here It Begins'
throws us into uncertain territory without a hand to hold.
At the outset 'Truth Only Smiles' almost sounds like it could
have escaped from a Brecht/Weill collaboration but subsequently
settles down into a gloriously warm and uplifting refrain.
The marvelously dense chords and harmonies of 'Bloodless Coup' are a joy;
the big, big chorus rubbing shoulders with the jangly exposed banjo is just
the kind of inventive juxtaposition which keeps us on our toes.
The fractured intimacy of 'Longshore Drift', shot through with crackling
static, is a disturbingly ambivalent invention. Dark and very unsettling.
'Kalypso' plays like an epic cinematic nightmare set
on a ghost ship lost in dense inpenetrable fog.
We are left uncertain about whether we are in good or evil territory and it
is just this quality which makes the song worm its way into our imagination.
'Future Perfect Tense', with its slightly twisted latin rhythm and folksy
vocal, looks towards and away from a US West Coast sound simultaneously.
'Joy Maker Machinery' is an astonishing composition.... Read more ›
something quite special with their new album 'Twice Born Men'.
This is music of almost visionary intensity.
Subtle, elusive, mysterious and (at the end of it all)
strangely moving.
Messrs Elsenberg, Bishop and Hamer know how to catch a
good tune and run with it, although not necessarily in
the direction we might have anticipated. This continually
makes for some very nice surprises.
The unsettling narrative of opening track 'Here It Begins'
throws us into uncertain territory without a hand to hold.
At the outset 'Truth Only Smiles' almost sounds like it could
have escaped from a Brecht/Weill collaboration but subsequently
settles down into a gloriously warm and uplifting refrain.
The marvelously dense chords and harmonies of 'Bloodless Coup' are a joy;
the big, big chorus rubbing shoulders with the jangly exposed banjo is just
the kind of inventive juxtaposition which keeps us on our toes.
The fractured intimacy of 'Longshore Drift', shot through with crackling
static, is a disturbingly ambivalent invention. Dark and very unsettling.
'Kalypso' plays like an epic cinematic nightmare set
on a ghost ship lost in dense inpenetrable fog.
We are left uncertain about whether we are in good or evil territory and it
is just this quality which makes the song worm its way into our imagination.
'Future Perfect Tense', with its slightly twisted latin rhythm and folksy
vocal, looks towards and away from a US West Coast sound simultaneously.
'Joy Maker Machinery' is an astonishing composition.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twice Born Men - Excellent
Recently bought this album after a friend mentioned that I might really like them (we were talking about Wilco). Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jennifer Lacey
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Pleasant Surprise
As someone in their early 50's, a music review might not hold much sway with many readers. However, as someone who has been around for the rockin' 70's, Punk, New Wave, Grunge,... Read more
Published 17 months ago by DerekQWilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best album of the year
This was by far was my album of the year. It is an album for all occasions, dining with friends, in the car, alone on your Ipod. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2011 by The Reviewer
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is no why
This album shifted my music tastes, it is truly fantastic. Their best to date IMO, from the first song to the last it all flows into something that I can't really do justice to, a... Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2010 by Rising Ape
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good music, horrible sound
This is a strange one - "Twice Born Men" has obviously been put together with a lot of care, from the intricate arrangements to the rather lovely artwork. Read more
Published on 29 Jan 2010 by Russell Finch
5.0 out of 5 stars
At last!!!
At last an album worth listening to. It is the best release since The Seldom Seen Kid. I bought it on recommendation and after listening a couple of times I fell in love with it. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2009 by B. J. du Cille
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow buner?
I think i can see why Sweet Billy Pilgrim have got the fringe minority praises. I definite slow burner album. Glad i bought it bscause it's different to so much out there. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2009 by P. W. Burridge
3.0 out of 5 stars
needs a few more plays
found this album quite interesting but feel its an album that needs to be played a few times to get a true feeing of this album
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Mr. D. Spooner
5.0 out of 5 stars
INSPIRING BRILLIANCE
The second album from this brilliant band. The music is a brilliant blending of both instruments, ethereal effects and the haunting voice of the lead singer. Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2009 by Sloop John B
4.0 out of 5 stars
Loved It
Their eclectic, slightly retro, 80s with a modern twist works for me. I have enjoyed listening to this over the last week.
Published on 24 Jun 2009 by Mrs X
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