I began writing hooks and ditties for this project immediately after uploading Lunarticks in 2018. Originally I had planned to write an album about the executioner Albert Pierrepoint, but there had already been a movie that covered quite a lot of the same ground. I struggled to develop a lyrical angle to this project. I was (and remain) reluctant to go back to writing personal lyrics but this felt therapeutic for a variety of reasons. With my partner’s blessing, I wanted to explore the experience of being together literally yet in different metaphorical places consciously, particularly in relation to her recent recovery from illness.
Similar to the Crushing Snails compositions, I went back to alternative tunings and deliberately stayed away from electric guitar. I also wanted to be more percussive than some of my previous work, particularly with a cajón, glockenspiel and thumb piano. I also wanted to have fewer vocal harmonies and effects than earlier projects. Like Lunarticks, Jaron Lanier’s book “You Are Not A Gadget” influenced the rough and ready approach to recording.
While working on this album I was mostly listening to old favourites like Sufjan Stevens and Damon Albarn, but also Lykke Li, Vashti Bunyan and Laura Marling.
Credits
Released April 8, 2020
All tracks written, performed and recorded by James Fair.
Backing vocals on The Warp & The Woof and Sync by Bee Fair.
Artwork by James Fair.