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Hill of Crosses
Scheduled for November 2000
CD
TURSA 028CD
World Serpent Distribution
You might assume from the kitten currently (August 2000) sported
on the Tursa website that Tony Wakeford - 'The Dark Troubadour
of the West' - has gone soft. Having now enjoyed exclusive access
to a nearly-finished version of his forthcoming album, I can assure
you that pessimism springs eternal - an antidote to the utopian
delusions of Enlightenment progressivism and the happy-head escapism
of hypermodern hedonism.
And when I say pessimism, I mean cheerless, unrelenting pessimism,
even bereft of any calls to existential assertion. Only in the closing,
title track, 'The Hill Of Crosses', is this pessimism slightly offset
by reference to the resilience of nature:
Murder turns the sky to rust
Childrens' faces crumble to dust
Tyrants wax and tyrants wane
The tree bends but still remains
But this is no thanks to Man and does little to ameliorate Tony's
grim take on the human condition. But before we can reach even this
chink of twilight, we must undergo a telling ordeal of dark and
depressing realisations. 'Black Dawn' may represent desolation from
war or environmental destruction or simply the inevitability of
death. 'December Song' deals with the approach of old age, death
and the prospect of being forgotten. 'Eve' deals with the eternal
woman as eternal witch, whilst recurring Sol themes surface in 'Chime
The Night' (betrayal, cannon fodder and puppetry) and 'The Street
Of Many Murders' (the proximity of violent crime). 'God Told Me
To' appears to be a madman's inversion of Christian meekness,
but it also seems to highlight the contradiction between meekness
and violence which lies at the heart of Christianity itself.
Having read the lyrics before listening to the album I was
beginning to wonder whether so much gravitas was in danger
of finally dragging the good ship Sol beneath the waves, but buoyancy
bags are to hand in the form of the music. The album opens with
a minimalist instrumental featuring a bright snare drum superimposed
on a deeper, slower drum pulse, and this is echoed later on 'Hundreds'
- a sinister traditional ditty from Lithuania. Musical contrast
is provided by 'December Song', a slow jazz ballad sung by Sally
Doherty owing much to the style of her solo work. So even though
we will be reduced to dust blowing around a deserted graveyard,
the echoes of Sol's music will still be dancing on the ether. Hill
of Crosses will be welcomed by Sol fans as a fair balance between
continuity and innovation, but you'll have to wait till November.
Advance orders to World
Serpent please.
SOL
INVICTUS
