Belbury Poly - New Ways Out

[kaini]

 

http://belburyparishmagazine.blogspot.ie/2016/04/new-ways-out-coming-may-2016.html

 

 

[mcbpete]

Just realised I never picked up The Belbury Tales album ... have to fix that now !

 

EDIT: Fixed, just bought the flaccy flac flac.

[Caretstik]

Will buy as usual. Ghost Box releases remain unmissable.

[Nebraska]

great. can't wait

[fumi]

Nice news.

[Nebraska]

https://soundcloud.com/ghost-box/sets/new-ways-out

[Rubin Farr]

cool

[fumi]

Can't wait. Cool.

[Nebraska]

well, i hate to say it, but i'm not enjoying this much. there's like two good tracks, but overall i felt disappointed.

[doublename]

Damn was really looking forward to this.

[Nebraska]

Damn was really looking forward to this.

 

hopefully you still give it a chance.

 

the problem for me is that jupp seems to be trying to slowly evolve the project into a more lyrical direction which i'm personally not a fan of eg: the belbury circle. did anyone enjoy that? how about 'the apple tree' by hintermass?

 

btw: not every song has lyrics, and one of my favorite tracks has mumblings of some sort. i guess i'm just not a fan of the glam rock sound or whatever this is supposed to be. would love to hear some other people's thoughts

[Caretstik]

 

Damn was really looking forward to this.

 

hopefully you still give it a chance.

 

the problem for me is that jupp seems to be trying to slowly evolve the project into a more lyrical direction which i'm personally not a fan of eg: the belbury circle. did anyone enjoy that? how about 'the apple tree' by hintermass?

 

btw: not every song has lyrics, and one of my favorite tracks has mumblings of some sort. i guess i'm just not a fan of the glam rock sound or whatever this is supposed to be. would love to hear some other people's thoughts

 

I enjoyed the Hintermass album as I expected there to be some vocal content. The Belbury Circle EP less so, which in hindsight seems like something of a fanboy fantasy made vinyl. 'The New Harmony' is my least favourite on the whole record because of those 'ba-ba-ba' vocals which quickly started to grate on me. I can understand your misgivings entirely, but then the roster so far has set the bar very high over the years. I do, however, really fancy the new Pye Corner Audio album they're releasing in July. I think they should put out a Listening Center full-length at some point soon as well.

[Nebraska]

^^ yes about 'the new harmony'. the "ba-ba-ba" lyrics kinda made me cringe, but the beginning of the song reminded me the type of music you'd hear when they interrupt a program for a special announcement.

 

haven't heard anything about a new pca record; that sounds exciting. btw: what happened to cafe kaput's applied music project? i thought these would come in a little more frequently but it's now been 3 years. was hoping to hear some cafe kaput electronic designs

[fumi]

I just picked this up on Friday. I've given it about six or seven listens. I also don't care much for the direction they're going with this. That 'new harmony' track is so bad and there are a few other pieces that really grate.

 

There are a couple of moments (mostly towards the end of the album) when the tracks get a bit better but this album was disappointing. It's just not unnerving enough for me. yeah, there is that subtle undercurrent that all hauntology has but it's only present on a few pieces (and then only briefly). My worry would be that Belbury Poly are turning down the same (IMO disastrous) path that Bibio took a few years ago.

 

I'm holding my breath for the new album link that Nebraska posted a few weeks back. It's sounds suitably creepy. I can't find the link - Somerset Folklore Tapes, I think.

[Caretstik]

Can't say I disagree with anything in the last two posts, unfortunately. Shame, as the Belbury Poly albums have so far been developing nicely, I feel. I think the forthcoming PCA album was mentioned in an email from Ghost Box explaining the delay in the 'New Ways Out' CD coming out. As regards vocal-type albums, I really enjoyed the Sound Carriers' record and was pleasantly surprised that Elijah Wood cropped up on the last track (backtracking, I enjoyed their previous albums a lot less). I still love the label though and have complete faith in them, I'm happy to put this album down to a glitch in proceedings.

[fumi]

I'm sure it's just a minor hiccup. Everything else put out on the label has been exceptional. It's an interesting problem for all these bands and artists that are mining the same unsettling 70s nostalgia vibe. How do you make it sound unique when everyone else is doing exactly the same thing? After a while, there is a danger of it all become a pastiche.

[thegirlnextdoor]

Disappointed with this, i prefer previous releases, lyrics put me off

[fumi]

Title track is rather nice. That eerie interlude halfway through is what I was hoping for more of. Still not so impressed with the rest.

[Caretstik]

Relistening to it now the CD's turned up (it's still flawed, some marks which make it stick for several seconds during The Elsewhere Shuffle but I can't be arsed to send it back) and the second side onwards is better. Not up to previous GB standards, but better. I have the utmost faith in PCA to turn things back around. I think it's almost time for some more Focus Group too.

[fumi]

Seem to find myself still playing this despite not really warming to it much for weeks. The track 'Old Ways In' is killer, especially the haunting middle section.

[Leon Sumbitches]

Listening atm, agree with pretty much all of what's been said above. I feel like there's quite a similar sound palette being used throughout the album, after a few tracks they all start to sound rather alike. Likewise not a huge fan of the more vocal direction; I feel like the vocals take away from the otherworldliness that I really loved on previous Belbury records. It's like the vocals make everything feel grounded, like it obviously came from a studio rather than having been beamed in from some standing stones or something. That said, Water Wheel is pretty nice, and I like All In Good Time as well.

 

Overall there's some funkyish stuff but nothing's quite up there with tracks like The Geography or Scarlet Ceremony, or A Pilgrim's Path, which I loved. Still love GB though, at least they're stretching out and trying slightly different stuff even if there is the odd misfire.

[kichiguy]

what are the most essential ghostbox albums?

[Ifeelspace]

Two of my faves are From Out Here by Advisory Circle and The Belbury Tales by Belbury Poly (natch).

 

Second half of this album is much more appealing than the first.

 

The Ba Ba (Blacksheep) vocals are indeed a little cringey, but there's still goodness within

[doublename]

+ Sleep Games by Pye Corner Audio

[fumi]

what are the most essential ghostbox albums?

 

 

You could just pick up the recent compilation. That would give you a good place to start.