Just what I needed: Only Sparrows

I’m not sure I can be trusted to write this review in sound mind. You see, Josh Pyke’s music makes me awfully gushy, and I’m listening to his new album as I write about it.

It could get messy…

I’ll try not to get too carried away, but you’ve been warned, I’m a big fan.

I finally got my hands on a copy of Josh Pyke’s new album Only Sparrows (thanks Karen xx) and listened to it for the first time yesterday. It’s been on repeat ever since, and I’ve been prone to wistfulness.

Only Sparrows as an album not too dissimilar from Pyke’s Memories and Dust (2007) and Chimney’s Afire (2008). In saying that, there’s no sense of repetition, the album stand apart. It’s twelve new, delightful tracks, twelve stories, twelve little pieces of poetry.

Track number one, Clovis’ Sons slayed me. The hairs stood up straight on the back of my neck, and I had to stop what I was doing and just listen. It made me breath more slowly, more deeply. Goodness.

No One Wants a Lover, the first single from the album, brought me back to earth a little…a cheerful number, feet-tapping, head-nodding, hand-clapping. It made me thing of pubs and beer and sticky carpets.

Diet of Worms broke my heart, and Punch in the Heart fixed it again. Punch… is especially fetching as it features Katy Steele. Her unique vocals adds a little extra whimsy to an already stunning song.

 

If I had to pick, I’d say that my favourite track on Only Sparrows would have to be Factory Fires, a colonial tune rich with story and desperation. It’s industrial and romantic, somber and beautiful all at once.

Lastly, to wrap up the album, Love Lies is a love-song lullaby, featuring gentle guitar, and an uniquely Australian tone. A song for summer.

This is quite a special album, and the stories it contains move me. They’re just what I need right now, and I’m fairly sure it’s got lots of listens ahead of it.

What are you listening to this summer?

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You know, that type of song…

Yesterday I was sitting on the train, minding my own business when I noticed that I had my eyes closed.

I wasn’t napping, although I could probably have done with a little kip after a long day at the office. Rather, I was listening to my ipod and had almost forgotten where I was (only a little bit embarrassing on a crowded train.)  I had my music on shuffle, and Joni Mitchell’s Case of You was in my ears.  Without even realising it, my mood had changed. All of a sudden I was feeling much happier, or perhaps more accurately, more content.

It got me to thinking, what is it about those special songs that make the heart hum a little, that make the mind slow, and that seem almost impossible to listen to without shutting your eyes?

So here’s a few tracks that have that particularly effect on me.  I’d love for you to let me know which songs do this for you…

Firstly, I’ve got to mention Case of You, by Joni Mitchell. Joni in general tends to make me feel very cruisey, but this song more than most.

The original Beatles track is pretty wonderful, but I think Sarah McLachlan’s cover of Blackbird is particularly lovely.

Next up I’ll include Fire and Rain, by James Taylor. A little daggy maybe, but this song always makes me think of a dear little River Phoenix.

And lastly is The Lighthouse Song, by Josh Pyke. I remember when I first heard this song, listening to the radio on the way to work. It hadn’t finished by the time I reached the office, so I walked around the block so that I could hear it through to the end. I was late for work.

So which songs make you hum a little, make the hairs standup on the back of your neck, give you goosebumps?

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