"This is not a dainty world" Julian Cope once observed in recognition that the gulf between poetry and reality is one that is nigh on unbridgeable.
Life is often all about compromises whether we like it all not. The gap between nobler sentiments and harsh truths is one that clearly preoccupies singer/pianist Roger Illingworth. "If I were a gentlemen, I would not invite you in" he sings on Gentleman, before swiftly abandoning such chaste notions in favour of a romp on the kitchen floor.
Despite such lapses, Illingworth is clearly a sensitive soul with a poetic disposition, Take, for example, the lyrical lines from the closing track, Union . "I don't understand why you grace me with your pleasure/When all that I do is erase what you make".
Granted, at times this becomes a trifle too flowery at times but the words do suit the foppish arrangements in which Illingworth is joined by bassist Adam Jarvis, drummer Raphael Saib and other musicians who play strings, acoustic and electric guitar, accordion, and ,on one track (You're Wrong) trumpet.
When he sings of a "heartless child" on Miner's Son, his effeminate tone made me think of Patrick Wolf and the drawback to all this exaggerated romanticism and excessive orchestration is that at times it tends to swamp what are essentially simple, heartfelt songs of quiet desperation.
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In addition, the sacrifices he is prepared to make for true love are hard to square with those of a sane individual. In For Your Trouble, he recklessly declares :"I would fall off cliffs for you/swim the coldest seas for you". Are you sure about that?
Buzzard Lope take their somewhat ungainly name from an equally ungainly sounding southern States dance performed with outstretched arms like a bird and shuffle and hop movement.
There's nothing remotely dance-worthy about the Daybreak EP - the quiet, reflective songs are more in the vein of late night jazz or low key pop.
Quite classy and nice gentle listening but more suited for gazing idly at the moon than flapping about like a demented bird.
Buzzard Lope Online
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