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Reviews

Captain of the Lost Waves — Beautiful Ugly
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-11-21

Beautiful Ugly Cover art

It was only a couple years ago that we reviewed one of the Captain’s earlier releases, Hidden Gems Chapter 3 – Mysterium Tremendum, in that review I declared it was “a brilliant album that deserves to be heard by all,” and I still stand by that, it was a powerful mix of folk, troubadour, and rock styles with great vocals and arrangements informed by world music elements. The latest album, Beautiful Ugly, is a little different, a far more gentle and atmospheric collection, same great songwriting and vocals, but the arrangements eschew much of the rock power that was present on the earlier album — where that album featured The Captain and five other musicians, this time out he has a much leaner crew: The Captain sings and plays bouzouki, mandolin, and guitar, with Damian Clark on keyboards, synthesizer, and sound design, and Wendy Ross on violins. Clark and Ross were both there on the previous album, but there were also drums, electric guitars, bass, and trumpet, which are absent on this voyage, thereby contributing to the more gentle, folky, and sometimes understated approach. Granted, there were some songs like these before, but the higher energy arrangements are not to be found in these nine tracks, instead opting for the loftier and delicate style that support the vocals superbly. Ross’ massed string arrangements near the end of “Vesper Flights” are quite beautiful, and it’s hard to argue about a song like “Neighborhood,” that is nothing short of stunning in its own right. One can take a piece like “Dirty Windows” that features only voices, zouk, acoustic guitar, and synths, and make a pretty compelling argument for these leaner arrangements as a superior showcase for his compositions. The title track closes the set, an astonishing piece that exists solely on gentle arrangements of acoustic guitars, synths, and multi-layered harmonies. All taken, it is what it is, and it’s hard to fault an artist for wanting to take his craft in a new direction, but one should know that the wild sonic variety of the previous album has given way to something more gentle and unified here.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Captain of the Lost Waves (Murray Grainger)

More info
http://captainofthelostwavesus.bandcamp.com/album/beautiful-ugly

 

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