Reigns are brothers Tim and Roo Farthing. Hailing from
the Somerset/Dorset border, the pair have previously
been seen with Rob Ellis, while Tim also served as guitarist
with PJ Harvey for a while. Reigns though is their own
project, and denotes an oblique and intriguing vision
of life. Although the ten tracks forming the core of
this album appear generally straightforward, the story
that lies beneath is a rather more unsettling, if truly
imaginative, affair, and ultimately influence the perception
of this exquisite collection of compositions.
If the pair are to be believed, this album is the result
of a rather curious experiment. There is, apparently,
somewhere on the Somerset Downs, a bottomless hole in
the ground. Over the years, the locals have tried to
unveil its secret, sending cameras and probes down,
but nothing came out of it. Literally. Nothing that
is, apart from unearthly melodies and strange voices.
Armed with a mile-long cable, a microphone and a recorder,
the Farthing brothers set out to capture these events
on tape, but, upon hearing the resulting recordings,
allegedly, decided to destroy the tapes, but failed
to do so entirely. Rescued and restored, these recordings
are now collected on this, Reigns’s debut album.
As charming as this story is, the music on We Lowered
A Microphone Into The Ground is before all the
manifestation of the Farthing brothers’ vivid
imagination. With shots of swirling acoustic guitars,
cascading piano, strings, harp and discreet found sounds,
the pair create intimate little vignettes which all
connect with each other into a fascinating musical narrative.
This is highly evocative music, with cinematic aspiration,
yet, Reigns refrain from grandiose soundscapes and sweeping
melodies, preferring instead to craft each sound, each
note, each tone to keep full control on the emotional
landscape of their compositions. From the delicate opening
moment of Tup’s Fold, with its evocative
piano line layered over an ever changing backdrop of
sonic waves, to the exotic Japanese Boating Accident,
on which the Farthing brothers progressively introduce
wooden percussions and develop a subtle musical theme,
to the post-rock influences found on Buried Chandelier
and the delightful Pentecost and Glassworks,
each component of this impressive mechanic has its very
own essential role, ensuring that everything else around
it falls into place.
We Lowered A Microphone Into The Ground is
a truly intriguing piece of work, so fragile and delicate
it threatens to collapse at any time, but holds on with
style. Reigns’ music feeds on dreams and illusions,
and trying to rationalise it is pointless. This established,
the bottomless hole becomes once again a very attractive
reality.
4.6/5 |
