All posts tagged David Thomas Broughton

David Thomas Broughton & Juice – In Service

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David Thomas Broughton has always been an enigma – his first record ‘The Complete Guide To Insufficiency'(2005) was a complex creation, an intimate collection of material that certainly deserved it’s critical acclaim. The haunting sadness of ‘An Ever Rotating Sky’ will long stay in the memory, swirling in tension… Broughton’s hypnotic vocal resembling Antony Hegarty with a Yorkshire lilt; his delivery always captivating.

Now residing in Seoul, South Korea, his recorded output often seemed a little at odds with his live performances… which are confrontational and at times awkwardly weird. But look beyond this initially theatrical exterior, and you can start to relate his behaviour with the inwardly intense themes of his music. ‘In Service’ taken from the forthcoming album ‘Sliding The Same Way'(Song By Toad Records) is a self-conscious and introspective display of his own failings. Made in collaboration with The Juice Vocal Ensemble and recorded together in a few hours in David’s home town of Otley, this semi-improvised track is a marriage made in heaven, wrapped up in a devastating and reflective beauty.

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Pre-Order here: http://songbytoadrecords.com/david-thomas-broughton/sliding-the-same-way/

https://www.facebook.com/davidthomasbroughton

Phill Young

Tom Hardwick Allan – Cold Clear Sky

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The vast majority of prediction lists are predictable in themselves, dominated by artists with huge marketing campaigns behind them. New music blogs are all too often the same, more concerned with backing a winner (and getting hits) than going against the grain, working harder to find something new and exciting. The blogs I admire have always presented the listener with something a little different.

Right now, Tom Hardwick Allan is something a little different, as exciting to me as a figure like Dean Blunt. His darkness and mystery have much appeal, as does his youth. He is at times a difficult listen and however beautiful and fucking brilliant I think he is, his music is always going to be a hard sell to your average listener.

Cold Clear Sky displays an array of textured sounds, from the industrial and the eerie, to the warmth of recorded chattering at a party. They build into a rich and deeply profound noise, his deeply emotive baritone voice balanced within, and each word with the weight of the world behind it. Often his voice remains in the background of his compositions, but here it is starting to break out. Hardwick Allan continues to intrigue and amaze me.

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Phill Young