By Todd Lavoie
Marty Willson-Piper, "Questions Without Answers" (1989)
What a treat! Singer/songwriter/founding member of Aussie atmosphere-masters The Church, Marty Willson-Piper, is doing a special solo-spotlight show--- backed by the alluringly-named Mood Maidens--- at the Great American Music Hall on Sunday, May 4th. As far as I remember, the last time he played here in the city was back in the summer of '06, with The Church, at the same venue. Ah, what a show that was--- ever-genteel bandmate Steve Kilbey joked about spearheading an "Elizabethan Rock" movement, and Willson-Piper obliged by bringing delicate, graceful guitar-dexterity to Church slow-burners and ambience-anthems such as "Under The Milky Way", "Chromium", and "Metropolis". No word yet about whether Elizabethan Rock is still on the front burner for the band, but the charming, quick-quipping guitarist/big-hit-with-the-ladies does have a new album out--- entitled Nightjar (Heyday Records), it's a gorgeous collection of warm-textured folk-rock pushed along by some of the most delicious six string jangles since, well, the last Church album, really.
Is an introduction to The Church necessary? Probably not, so how about a reminder, then: ever since releasing their debut Of Skins and Heart (Arista/EMI) back in 1981, the band has released well over a dozen albums and EP's matching (frequently) melancholy neo-psychedelic atmospherics with mystical subject matter, and Willson-Piper has, along with lead singer Kilbey, been a constant in their two-decades-deep career. Much of their success should be attributed to his ability to float just the right color of aura to their formidable mood-making; it's tough to imagine the smoldering majesty of Church classics like 1985's "Myrrh", 1988's "Antenna", or 2003's "Sealine" without Marty's sublime textures. Then, of course, there's the perennial crowd-fave of "Spark"--- the taut, sneering Mod stomper from 1988's Starfish (Arista) gave the band's usual backing-vocalist a truly inspired turn at the lead mic. Two particularly fascinating recent-additions to the band's catalogue--- 2004's El Momento Descuidado and 2007's El Momento Siguiente (both Liberation Music)--- both offer exquisite "unplugged" revisits to career-highlights, and here, free of feedback and pedal effects, one can gain a whole new appreciation for his intricate guitar-work. Perhaps they also had an effect on the recording of Nightjar, as this new solo jaunt seems to share a kinship with the lush folk ambience of both albums. Granted, the disc does indeed have its electric moments--- it even occasionally rocks out in that slow purposeful grind associated with latter-day Church recordings--- but it's easy to imagine Nightjar as a younger, rougher-around-the-edges sibling to the Momento twins.
Much praise must be given for Willson-Piper's vocals; his warm troubadour burr is perfectly suited for the rich canopy of violins, cellos, and woodwinds which frequently surround his engaging meditations and rousing folk-rock. It's also considerably different from that of his bandmate; whereas Kilbey's delivery tends to be well-versed in ethereal detachment, Willson-Piper feels distinctly more earthbound. Kilbey would hover mid-air while recalling his latest spiritual awakening, while Marty would pull up a chair and spin a yarn about his latest romp--- therein lies the difference. This doesn't merely hold true in regards to vocal style; the same analogy could be said for lyrical content as well. Nightjar speaks in earnest tones and with emotional directness--- take "I Must Have Fallen," for example. Amidst ringing acoustic guitars, fluid piano lines, and curling string-section tendrils, he returns to a simple but disarming admission" "I must have fallen in love with you." Accompanied by the sweet, pillow-soft harmonies of the Mood Maidens, these quiet moments of do-or-die are downright breathtaking. The similarly striking "Lullaby For The Lonely"--- a gentle violin-filigreed lilt offering the wistful refrain "can't you feel yourself falling apart"--- almost makes teary-eyed solitude sound like a lovely place to be, thanks to its ravishing orchestration.
Album opener "No One There" is the sort of slow-unfolding epic so closely identified with The Church, thanks to its rolling tom rhythm and intricate webs of electric guitars. Augmented by the occasional flare-up of horns--- or are those synths imitating horns?--- the song surges and swells with the same music-as-force-of-nature intensity often offered as opening statements on Church albums. "Feed Your Mind" and "High Down Below" are both strident folk-rock rambles which carefully balance bright-eyed optimism and been-around-the-block realism, and "A Game For Losers" is a flawless late-night drunken cobblestone-stumble set a-swaying by the romantic chug of Parisian-caf� accordion and a lone rooftop-serenading trumpet blowing away in the distance. "I'm a devil's apprentice/ doing a sentence/ with a pain that I can't even feel," he raves and slurs over the wobbled-gospel of a choir of boozy angels, and I'll be damned if I didn't catch a flash or two of early Leonard Cohen casting a leering eye through the haze of glorious inebriation.
No vids yet from Nightjar, but here's:
Marty Willson-Piper, "She's King" (1989)
MARTY WILLSON-PIPER WITH THE MOOD MAIDENS
Sun/May 4, 8 p.m., $20
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell, SF
(415) 885-0750
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Comments (2)
Great review, I've been listening to this new album the last couple of weeks and you nailed it. I saw MWP perform in Sydney just before he headed to the USA, an awesome, at times spine-tingling, performance of songs drawn from Nightjar, Sparks Lane and Hanging out in Heaven, to name a few, finishing with a standing ovation for a blistering acoustic version of SPARK from The Church's Starfish album!
Dont miss him, you lucky ones will get the Mood Maidens on this tour as well, magic will happen! Try and request "To Where I Am Now' because that song really blew me away!
Posted by sue | May 2, 2008 05:46 AM
Thanks, Sue! Fingers crossed on "Spark"--- oh, how I'd love to hear that one! Same goes for "To Where I Am Now". Should be a great show!
Posted by Todd Lavoie | May 2, 2008 07:51 AM