CD Review Trumpets of Death 
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CD Review: Trumpets of Death
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People around Leeds may well remember Benjamin Wetherill from his solo shows as an arch, smart folk singer.
Somewhere along the line, our nice young man got his heard turned by drones, squealing saxophones and freeform percussion, for Trumpets of Death – whom Ben is one quarter of – are a shockingly different proposition.
Opening track ‘The Press Gang’ feature Ben’s soft, lonely vocals singing a song of war over a dense, tense atmospheric growl, while ‘The Paper Plough’ has a disturbing militaristic feel with its precise tight rhythms feeling like a march to war, before breaking into the kind of Balkan folk jig.
Album centre piece ‘Jason’ sounds like Berlin-period Bowie at his darkest, slowly building up a huge wall of sound while Ben murmurs over the top. ‘Woodrows Lament’ turns from gentle pianos to a horrible synthesised racket, while ‘Cruel Ship Captain’ is disjointed, raucous art-punk.
The albums five tracks clock in at just over 30 minutes and throughout it’s a taut, anxious affair, ignoring strong structure for a general sense of doom and forebodance.
This is not easy listening, it’s dark and difficult and bloody brilliant with it.
Watch the video for ‘Woodrows Lament’
Posted on Monday 28th March 2011
TG
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