There’ nothing like being confused by an album. In an age where you usually just need to listen to the first track to know what you’re in for, Graveyard Tapes don’ provide any easy answers. The first two songs couldn’ be more different. ‘Gravebell’ opens with finessed digitalia, a repetitive pulsing dose of feedback that delves into difficult pitches, that is then consumed by noise. The second piece, ‘Bloodbridge’ features gentle piano, electrics skittering around the seams and heartfelt, Sparklehorse-esque vocals.
It’s a really fascinating way to not just sequence, but create music. They play with tension and release, creating moods, creating worlds, then mixing and matching between worlds that don’ normally meet. The third piece, ‘Gravebat’s doesn’ help either, a locked repetitive groove, vocals through thin urgent lips, and again a layer of skittery electrics. That’s before the horns come in.
Graveyard Tapes are in their own little world. It’s the first album for Scottish duo of Euan McMeekan (Kays Lavelle/Glacis) and Matthew Collings (Sketches For Albinos), who make fractured, beautiful wounded music, that’s simultaneously experimental and comforting. Their music is relatively sparse, as if their desire to have their feet in both the experimental electronics, and indie pop worlds has left them somehow exposed, working with frames and skeletons, without the genre’ usual ingredients to fill in the gaps. There’ a looseness in structure here, in the way the more song based elements interact with the electrics. In fact despite the often-percussive highly textural pulses coursing through the tunes, there’ a certain feeling of stillness, of stasis. The lyrics are mournful, emotive, self involved and all consuming – an insular world unto themselves.
It’s a bold mix that refuses easy categorisation and instead seems intent on forging new ground. What’s curious is that the combination of the disparate ingredients seems to add an additional feeling of gravity to proceedings.
Then of course there’ the packing. It’s a remarkable limited edition hardcover concertina book, a work of art itself, complete with a 10-panel display featuring illustrations from UK artist Jamie Mills.
Bob Baker Fish
