Reviewed by Kev McVeigh
The Existence Of Harvey Lord is a CD infused with a sense of the Romantic Sublime. Harvey has gathered an 11-piece band to convey his mission musically, a vision of loss and hope, one man’s place in a landscape, a desiderium in a folk-jazz mode.
The classicism at the heart of his music reveals itself in tiny epiphanies, a ripple of banjo, a slide riff, a haunting ocarina, delicate almost non-existent touches of percussion, all parts barely noticed individually yet crucially weighted such that their absence could not be contemplated.
This is an unusually holistic album even as its slips from the incessant acoustic fusion of ‘Ligan’ to the Ringo-esque ‘Who Dreams?’ to the cello drone of ‘Mahayana.’ The musicianship is superb throughout, taut yet fexible, never clinical so that comedowns are warm not cold, and highs blissful.
The Existence Of Harvey Lord is a metaphysical journey into the night of a small town (explicitly referenced in three songs), away from the bustle of the day and the town, yet fascinated by its humanity, its life, a musical equivalent of Wordsworth’s ‘Lines Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ perhaps. And it is a triumph of musical ability matching self-aware imaginative prowess and bringing forth something truly special.
Filed under: lancaster, Review | Tagged: harvey lord |
I flip everytime I hear the cello stretch out on ‘Anchorite’.
Gorgeous stuff.
Hey, nice review, I urge everyone to rush out and buy it so we can crack on and pay for the recording of the next one, hahaha