Gary Glauber
Reviews:
November/December,
2005
Pugwash
Jollity
(1969 Records)
U.K. Release Date: September 23, 2005
U.S. Release Date: Available as import
www.pugwashtheband.com
www.1969records.com
Thomas Walsh, the creative singer/songwriter
force behind Pugwash, remains one of those tremendously talented
people who thus far has (quite unjustly) escaped public notice.
Still, with the release of Jollity, his third studio
album, there is hope this might change.
Walsh has a reputation as a musician's musician,
writing rich melodic songs of love and loss that tend to be
packed full with effective pop hooks amid layers of meticulously
executed musical nuance. Walsh's own Beatlemania often rises
to the fore, as does his Jeff Lynne/RoyWood/The Move/Electric
Light Orchestra vibe, though there's plenty Beach Boys/High
Llamas influence as well. Walsh also claims to be moved by
such disparate musical entities as the Bee Gees, The Kinks
and XTC.
The admiration extends both ways, however,
with Pugwash garnering praise from the likes of such heralded
icons as Brian Wilson and XTC's Andy Partridge (who co-wrote
one of the new songs). Pugwash specializes in songs designed
for residual pleasure - the kinds of things that go around
your head long after the music has stopped playing.
Yet these superb compositions haven't translated
into commercial success, and even though the songs of Jollity
continue the string of excellence, it's likely Pugwash shall
make do with the comfortable cult status it has achieved in
Walsh's native Dublin, America, and Australia (where Pugwash
songs get radio play).
In a thankless, mercurial industry driven
by formulas based on others' successes, Pugwash is a throwback
to simpler times when it was mostly the music that mattered.
So Walsh soldiers on, not changing his style to someone else's
idea of musical "flavor-of-the-month." He remains
driven by a desire for excellence, and always has been, from
1999's debut Almond Teaon through 2002's Almanac.
Now, Jollity delivers more of the same, with increased
depth and maturity -- eleven home-made songs that arrive fully
realized, a collection of small melodic masterpieces.
Primarily this is a collection of symphonic
pop ballads, those looking to rock out can move on. Walsh
has surrounded himself with a core of fine musicians, Keith
Farrell on bass, Duncan Maitland on various keyboards, a variety
of drummers (Graham Hopkins, Aidan O'Grady, John Boyle) and
two very special guests in Dave Gregory and Eric Matthews.
Jollity is the musical equivalent
of thoughtful repose, a quiet afternoon of careful contemplation
couched in warm, well-arranged surroundings. Partially recorded
at Abbey Road Studios, there's a suitable feeling of musical
reverence in these songs - every track rewards those who listen
closely with headphones.
The album opens with a true bit of jollity,
the amiable and bouncy single, "It's Nice To Be Nice."
The Brian Wilson influence comes through loud and clear, a
bubbly Beach Boys bassline percolating beneath simple lyrics
that state the obvious: "It's nice to be nice, as my
mama once said / It's good to be good and it's fun to be fun."
While it's catchy and fun, the real album begins with the
next track.
Thomas Walsh has a knack for wonderfully
melodic hook lines that fit their way between steady chord
progressions. It's Walsh at his best - as he holds off with
the hook, forcing the listener to hear it even when it's not
there. Two of the songs here follow in that winning formula
are "Black Dog" and "Even I." "Black
Dog" (no relation to the Zeppelin song) builds slowly
into something grand, an emotional homage and plea for a life
of painless solitude. Walsh's smooth tenor conveys that plea
well, a man in a dark cave seeking not to be bothered. Voicing
the musical hook (and doing his best Chet Baker stint) is
the talented Eric Matthews (Cardinal, solo), whose trumpeting
presence here adds so much. Also present here with a lead
is one-time XTC member Dave Gregory.
Many contend XTC lost depth and richness
after Gregory's departure. His guitar, keyboards and arrangements
added much to the XTC sound - but since he never shared the
songwriting spotlight with Moulding and Partridge, his contributions
were downplayed some. In truth, Gregory excels at nuances,
finding just the right sounds to fill the void, be it strings
or keys. His string arrangements on *Sklylarking* remain a
testament to his talents.
Those talents are very much on display throughout
*Jollity*, particularly in the beautifully lush string arrangements
found on "A Rose In A Garden of Weeds." This song
of patient waiting tells of love questioned and held off,
yet ultimately verified through the tacit virtues of laughter.
Walsh's talents extend beyond creating Beatlesque symphonic
ballads to crafting lyrics that reflect a poet's succinct
expression: "Why won't you let me in? / Feel life through
my soul / And then you laugh and then I see / why you're my
rose in a garden of weeds."
The Section Quartet (who has played with
the likes of Wilco and Kanye West) provide the breathtaking
strings in an arrangement that rises and falls in crescendos
of aural pleasure. They are Eric Garfan and Daphne Chen on
violins, Leah Katz on viola and Richard Dodd on cello.
The quartet, along with Gregory on grand
piano and Matthews on trumpet, contribute to the lovely ballad
"I Want You Back In My Life (for Mam)." This dulcet
ballad of longing starts out like a lost John Lennon song.
It goes on to present pleading and promising in multiples
of seven, but as Walsh reminds us, "it's a simple factor
now." There is the ache of wanting more in this plaintive
yet heartfelt lament: "'Cause even though I feel you,
I'm reaching out / I just can't touch you."
Another soft, winning ballad is "Poles
Apart," a thinking man's views on love and relationships.
This theory finds polar opposites in attraction, a paradox
that comprises this situation: "So my conscience is clear
and my mind holds no fear / And we're so far apart we're so
near…/ we're poles together." This waltz is a tour-de-force
for Dave Gregory - he delivers sumptuous guitar and piano
work.
Probably my current personal favorite is
"This Could Be Good." Here Walsh reflects on the
vicissitudes and foibles of life's fickle day-to-day doings.
It's an uncommonly optimistic song, and one that grows on
you with repeated listens. There are loads of musical nuances
here, from fuzz bass and guitar, to hand claps, to Shaun McGee's
backing vocals. Musically, Walsh always manages surprising
musical changes (going from a major seventh to a major sixth
here), and lyrically, he waxes philosophical with a positive
spin: "Ever wonder why you're running but you're going
nowhere? / It's life's little way of telling you you're already
there. / So I won't replicate those mistakes that were made
/ I simply refuse to believe all of the bad." It's a
happy, busy musical jumble, but kudos especially to Keith
Farrell, who contributes some superb bass and guitar work.
Gregory adds sitar accents to another wonderfully
infectious Pugwash tune, "Even I." You'll be hearing
the guitar hooks even when they're not there - it's a typical
Walsh/Pugwash construction - and "even I can see the
irony" in it.
"Something New" is another mid-paced
winner that showcases Duncan Maitland on piano (and features
everything from Mellotron flutes to a 12-string Rickenbacker).
It's a tale of revitalization at the hands of an old love,
and is quite charmingly sweet and melodic.
As if further proof was needed that Pugwash
operates outside the commercial norm, the CD offers up a waltz
followed by a lullaby. "Waltz #714" is a harmony-drenched
concoction that explores relationship troubles when a couple
is all alone for the first time (with guest banjo by Tosh
Flood). "Lullaby #1" is a dear, brief assurance
from parent to child at bedtime that all will turn out just
fine.
The album closes with the song co-written
with Andy Partridge. "Anchor" is a sprawling five-minute
plus ballad to love replete with nautical imagery (a common
element in many Partridge songs), yet the middle bridge and
beyond is pure Eric Matthews (who contributes vocal parts
as well as tremendous trumpet and flugelhorn). It's "The
Last Balloon" meets "Fanfare," with Thomas
Walsh's special creative flair thrown into the mix.
All told, Jollity is a rich compendium
of aural excellence that continues the musical legacy being
built by Walsh as Pugwash. These eleven compositions are gorgeously
arranged and meticulously executed, weaving layers of musical
nuance into delicately infectious ballads of love and reflection.
The hope is that this new Pugwash collection
will be met with a higher profile - but quality is never a
guarantor of popular success. So, while long-time fans will
not be disappointed - the quest remains to find a mature public
eager to enjoy such finely wrought melodic works. For Walsh's
sake, it deserves to happen.
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