Artist: The Slow Show Album: Dream Darling Bitrate: 223kbps avg Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz Label: Haldern Pop Genre: Indie Size: 66.59 megs PlayTime: 0h 39min 33sec total Rip Date: 2016-10-14 Store Date: 2016-09-30 Track List: -------- 01. Strangers Now 5:18 02. Hurts 4:25 03. Ordinary Lives 3:59 04. Lullaby 3:36 05. Dry My Bones 3:53 06. This Time 4:20 07. Brawling Tonight 3:05 08. Last Man Standing 3:57 09. Breaks Today 4:38 10. Brick 2:22 Release Notes: -------- ôSilence is the loudest noise you can possibly have in music. Whether on an album or at a concert, silence brings tension and an uncomfortable feeling thatÆs so powerfulöá á Rob Goodwin, The Slow Show áThere are few bands who are aware of how potent a weapon silence can be in their music. In a rush to fill all the space on a multi-track studio, the ability to draw a listener closer in by cutting songs back to their bare essentials has been somewhat lost in recent years. As their name implies, The Slow Show have both a magisterial beauty to their sparse songs and the confidence to let their spellbinding four-minute stories find their mark. Rarely since The Blue Nile has a band created such a powerful, fully realised world from what initially appears such a minimal framework. The Slow ShowÆs new self-produced second album æDream DarlingÆ has a hard-won optimism in its 10 graceful songs. ItÆs music made by five men who, as singer Rob Goodwin explains, have ôgone through the typical life-changing experiences that men in their late thirties and forties experienceö.á Whether thatÆs the romantic regret of the Tindersticks-inflected drama of æBreaks TodayÆ or overcoming loss in the albumÆs towering centrepiece æOrdinary LivesÆ, this is music to live in. æDream DarlingÆ is a collection of songs that any adult whoÆs lived a little can identify with, even when the loss, new life and break-ups detailed within feel monumental to the people experiencing them. Having gone on tour in Germany and Switzerland almost immediately after the band formed in 2010, The Slow Show are a major cult concern and festival regulars in mainland Europe, where theyÆre signed Haldern Pop Records, the label formed by the team behind the successful festival.ôWe learned to be a band in Europe,ö recalls Goodwin. ôThe crowds there immediately listened to us so intently. They were very quiet, which might not have happened if weÆd dropped into a club at home in Manchester on a Thursday night to play. When youÆre playing such intricate, slow songs, you need the audienceÆs attention.öAfter taking four years to assemble, 2015Æs debut album æWhite WaterÆ was a more aggressive, angry affair, topped off by GoodwinÆs mordant baritone vocals. ItÆs a startling rumble that bears comparison to Leonard Cohen and Mark Lanegan but, on æDream DarlingÆ, Goodwin has honed his vocal range to become a compelling storyteller. HeÆs a singer whoÆs now able to narrate the jilted-at-the-altar heartbreak of æLast Man StandingÆ or æHurtsÆ tale of a man offering redemption to a sex worker with the necessary levels of wit and pathos, as well as convincingly crooning into the mic.ôI never thought I was a singer,ö Goodwin admits. ôWhen the band started, we looked to get a singer in for six months, but couldnÆt find anyone, because the people we met didnÆt serve the song very well. IÆm more of a storyteller than a singer. If youÆre the person whoÆs written the song, you can get its point across better than anyone else, even if their voice is slightly better. IÆve learned to use my voice much better on this record.ö áThe Slow Show began when keyboardist and producer Fred Kindt helped launch Manchester studio Blueprint, where Elbow, Justin Timberlake, Duran Duran and Johnny Marr have recorded. Goodwin was playing guitar for another band, bonding with Kindt over their love of orchestras, brass bands and film music before becoming housemates. Kindt had been impressed by guitarist Joel Byrne-McCullough and drummer Chris Hough when they played at Blueprint, while bassist James Longden had similarly dazzled Goodwin in Manchester music circles.ôFred is a great producer,ö Goodwin explains. ôHe saw that the five of us would work well together. Musically, everyone brings their own little something to the mix and, just as importantly, Fred thought weÆd all get on together.ö(It should be noted that The Slow Show arenÆt, as has been reported, named after The NationalÆs song Slow Show, the name comes from HoughÆs love of show-stopping acts and the bandÆs determination not to make hurried music.)Rather than make the album at Blueprint û ôManchester has too many lovely distractionsö, laughs Goodwin û æDream DarlingÆ was recorded at a farmhouse in the Lake District. The band would start at 8am and record until 2am, discussing the songs over dinner and the occasional pint in nearby Kendal.á ôWe were figuring our lives out,ö says Goodwin. ôAs the lyricist, I felt more comfortable on this record saying to the others: æThis is what this song is about.Æ On æWhite WaterÆ, theyÆd interpret the songs in their own way. This time, in that barn, youÆd look around and see that everyone was thinking the same thing. That emotion comes out on the album, and knowing what the songs are about means we play them more appropriately live too.öKindtÆs father died shortly before recording began, while Goodwin saw his relationship of 12 years end around the same time. ôThat was humbling,ö he states simply. ôYou feel youÆre on solid ground, knowing where life is going, but all of a sudden the rug is whipped from under you and you start again. I had to find a new house. But itÆs an optimistic album and, while it was a big change, it was a necessary one.öThe break-up is most explicitly referenced in the minimalist classical atmosphere of album opener æStrangers NowÆ and its stark message: ôWhoÆs breaking your heart tonight?ö A more offbeat by-product of the break-up came when Goodwin was briefly living in a rooftop bachelor flat, seeing a man in a faded tracksuit on the gravel car-park opposite teaching haphazard martial arts lessons to similarly unlikely-looking trainees. æBrawling TonightÆ is the beautifully bittersweet result.ôThis guy was there every night with his half-bottle of Lucozade,ö Goodwin recalls. ôNone of them looked equipped, but they were so devoted. In my head, the guy was a faded Olympian whoÆd lost his way, æbrawling on the drivewayÆ with his recruits.ö áThe night-time studio sessions partly inspired æDream DarlingÆs title. ôItÆs an album written in the dark and worked on late at night. It feels quite a dreamy record. The alliteration is deliberate û I think alliteration is an official theme now for The Slow Show, following the band name and æWhite WaterÆ for the first album title. æWhite WaterÆ was the perfect title for the first album; aggressive and a bit troubled. The alliteration works again on æDream DarlingÆ, as itÆs softer and more relaxed, which reflects that weÆre more content.ö Not that the album was a wholly idyllic experience. As the albumÆs producers, Kindt and Goodwin had intense discussions over just how sparse the album should sound.ôThe idea for how our songs should sound is the same, but the methods of getting there differ,ö says Goodwin. ôWeÆll push songs too far with orchestration, then reign it back. WeÆll often argue about things the listener wouldnÆt notice, like whether a tiny cymbal sound is too loud. But the minute we get on perfectly would be a bad time, as we have these three-day debates because we care so much. WeÆre always aware of not using sound for the sake of it.öHaving experimented with orchestration on White Water, the band were determined to push the classical influences further this time, recording with a choir in Berlin and letting them carry the vocals in places û most notably the soaring wordless finale Brick, which is the perfect, tear-jerking climax for the albumÆs theme of change.The albumÆs other key guest is local Manchester singer Kesha Ellis, who sings the devastating duets æHurtsÆ and æLast Man StandingÆ. She was found via a workshop the band helped out on, with Goodwin summarising: ôI donÆt find traditionally ægreatÆ singers so interesting. Keisha doesnÆt sing much, but the texture and tone in her voice are beautiful.ö áWhile theyÆre proud of ManchesterÆs heritage, musically The Slow Show stand apart, influenced more by Sigur Ros than New Order or The Stone Roses. ôBut seeing how many great bands come from Manchester makes you realise you can make it, and thatÆs important,ö says Goodwin.Dream Darling is a record that shows anything is possible too. Any change and upheaval can be overcome. No matter how gentle the beauty of their songs, The Slow Show are a band worth shouting about from the rooftops.