Recent Reviews

 A couple of recent reviews to keep the spirits topped up. Firstly Ed Pinsent's take on Not Even My Closes Friends. 

Songs of Friendship

Latest gem from Philip Sanderson is Not Even My Closest Friends (SNATCH TAPES tch 221), this time released as a limited edition cassette tape. In some ways following on previous outing Rumble Of The Ruins, it’s another set of electro-pop songs, carefully composed and layered, all performed and sung by Sanderson.

Once again assured melodic tunes and a user-friendly surface hook the listener in, and at one level the closest comparison might be Sparks (as already identified by another online reviewer), and not just because of the keyboards and multi-tracked vocal parts but also the shrewd knowing tone in the semi-ironic lyrics, which just happen to be littered with enough pop culture references to fill Greil Marcus’ Dustbin Of History. It so happens that our man has blogged about the creation of this album and those inclined to learn more can view a series of posts he wrote in June-July 2021, printing the lyrics to each song and detailing the circumstances of its creation. Even a cursory skim here will yield a rich harvest of unexpected influences and ideas, including Genesis, Throbbing Gristle, sea shanties, British Cinema of the 1950s, Kraftwerk, Aleister Crowley, Marc Bolan…and that’s not counting the “shopping list” styled song ‘Idol Ferry’ which drops so many ultra-charged names into the magic hat that previous contenders Bill Joel, REM, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan just wither into tiny raisins…and all this is without taking into account the song-craft, studio technique and technical ability with synths, software, drum machines and sequencers that Sanderson weaves together with an almost invisible skill.

There’s a certain modesty and charm that conceals this skill; there’s no keyboard solos or other musical flourishes, and all the effort is poured into the song’s construction, each layer adding the precise degree of desired inflection or musical mood to the overall piece. When faced with the familiar producer’s dilemma of having too many good tracks to work with, the composer stoically sighs “you have to choose which child to sacrifice” as he shelves an immaculately recorded instrumental part simply because it doesn’t fit the overall scheme. (Perhaps Brian Wilson should have applied this line of thought in 1966, instead of allowing those multiple takes of ‘Good Vibrations’ or ‘Heroes and Villains’ to grow out of control). Elsewhere, our self-effacing singer comments on how he keeps his own vocal mannerisms in check with a simple “you can have too much chocolate in your box”. The net result of all this work is a number of imaginative and distinctive pop songs (and one instrumental) which will bear repeated listening for many years, and even on early plays one can discern the slightly dark and discordant elements lurking in the background of these otherwise brightly-coloured pop tones, elements which have evidently been layered in with consummate care.

Conceptually rich, NEMCF deserves to be regarded as an intelligent, informed recasting of selected moments from pop/rock music history into new and exciting forms, in a process which has to my mind been matched only by such luminaries as David Thomas and Kraftwerk. 09/03/2022 Ed Pinsent

...and Frans De Waard from Vital Weekly 1322 on the Passionate Particles CD.

PHILIP SANDERSON - PASSIONATE PARTICLES (CD by Klanggalerie)

I like Austria's Klanggalerie label because they are not strictly a re-issue label, even when a considerable part of their catalogue is about giving old releases a new life. They also like their old artists to release new music, which is great. Please don't stick to your old guns, but also care about new music, as we will see today and in the next few weeks; I got a few of their recent releases. Today I'd like to start with Philip Sanderson. As you may know, Sanderson began his musical career in the late 70s with the Storm Bugs and his Snatch Tapes label. For many years he worked his own name (next to a more ambient oriented side project as Ice Yacht), and 'Passionate Particles' can be seen as a re-issue but not of one particular old release. Rather, it is a collection of pieces from the last twenty years that found their way to a plethora of formats (LP, cassettes, downloads, CDR). I enjoyed Storm Bugs in the past, but Sanderson's work is totally my thing. It is a no-brainer that I picked his album first from the bundle of Klanggalerie. Since the release of 'On One Of Those Bends' (Vital Weekly 1177), I have paid particular attention to his work. There is something lovely pop music about his work. I recently (Vital Weekly 1290; two of the pieces from that cassette are also on this CD) connected to Sparks, especially in his vocal delivery. That is not yet as strong on the sixteen pieces on 'Passionate Particles', except for the two pieces from Not Even My Closest Friends', but poppy it certainly is. Not the naff kind that is popular with the kids these days, but lovely music for adults. All electronic and sometimes instrumental bring a fine balance to the album. I would think that if you love Sparks or The Residents (who have a strong presence in the Klanggalerie as well), Sanderson's music will go down well, even without the guitar parts that these days seem to play a more significant role with The Residents (so I am told, not being the biggest fan there; odd, come to think of it). Sanderson's music isn't per se uptempo and upbeat, but moody and introspective, next to being quirky and pleasant; another excellent act of balancing there. Obviously, you'd find none of these tunes in any top ten, which is a great pity. This is precisely the sort of music that deserves a bigger audience; if only the world would listen! Today it rained a lot, but this release put a big smile on my face. It went straight to repeat, just as yesterday. Next up is some more of his music, as I call it a day and I want to enjoy some more wacky tunes! (FdW)