The Custodian don’t have much to say for themselves. I could just say “listen to this and decide for yourself” but that isn’t going to do anything. In any case, this is an album which I created a series of impressions in my mind. They are impressions that I am ready to share. That’s got to be a good starting point for a review.
If comparisons are sought, then I heard Porcupine Tree, recent Anathema, Pink Floyd, Opeth and, for older readers, Stealer’s Wheel in “Necessary Wasted Time”. The apparent metaphor within the title gives a clue, as this is an album of mellow, largely acoustic, reflective prog rock which advances dreamily while questioning and challenging norms. It won’t hit you between the eyes like a bullet but it is an album to imbibe and absorb. There’s a hypnotic melancholy. “Other People’s Lives” follows its own path but has many of the typical qualities. Here there’s a faintly Eastern feel and combined with the seamless transitions into technically skilful progressive passages and constant but gentle mobility, it’s both interesting and accessible. It’s testimony to the quality of the musicianship that on “Things We Tell Ourselves”, words are simply not necessary. The music ebbs and flows, not unlike Opeth’s “Damnation”, and there’s a subtle funky beat going on underneath. Six minutes into this piece of heaven, we’re taken onto a higher plane. This album was mixed in the Hansen studios, and without taking anything away from the impressive creativity of the composition, every last drop of emotion and excitement is drawn from the wondrous layers of music. It may be gentle but it’s always dramatic. My only disappointment was that “Things We Tell Ourselves” ended. It’s like one of those experiences which you don’t want to end. But back come the band with the hypnotic and thoughtful “Departure”. This track above all told me that The Custodian have a Pink Floyd album or two in their collection. In a moment reminiscent of Supertramp’s “Rudy” and its train announcement, the track ends with a flight call – “evoking the romance of travel”, is how the sculptor Paul Day might put it. This album has the shape of an artistic creation, and continues its subtle progression with the beautiful “The Sun is God”. Clouds develop in a heavier passage but they pass through before reverting back to the gentle acoustic summer breeze. The title song ends the work. Strongly reminiscent of Porcupine Tree to start with, it is the most self-doubting and verbose of all the tracks on the album. As ever, from a relative state of progressive irregularity, a natural calm is found. Acoustic order and beauty runs alongside gentle metal moodiness.
This album recalls a number of giant artists of the progressive and rock scene. Its flow is so natural and calming that for almost 50 minutes, I was just carried away to a higher place. Words are used sparingly but to me they were just incidental. The soft beat, acoustic rhythms and subtle twists and turns within this overlapping music are hypnotising and entrancing. My head became locked into the gentle movements. Yet without disturbing the natural flow there’s a sense of reality and quiet melancholic discomfort rumbling underneath the surface like a scene from an Alan Bennett play. It’s amazing. My aural senses told me very clearly that “Necessary Waste of Time” is a complete delight and a masterpiece of soft progressive music.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
www.facebook.com/WeAreTheCustodians
Leave a Reply