Fish
A Feast of Consequences
(Chocolate Frog Record Company Ltd)
Ex-lead singer (for quite a while now) of Marillion, Fish has never put out easy listening albums or albums that are easy to listen to (in a good way). His latest independently released A Feast of Consequences is a hard but good listen.
Opening with “Perfume River,†we get some great soundscapes and Fish’s distinctive vocal biting back his points, then midway some up-ahead acoustic stompin’ with backing vocals from Elisabeth Troy Antwi that really opens things up. “Blind To the Beautiful†is a ballad of a breathy Fish vocals over an expertly placed acoustic from Robin Boult, who is brilliant throughout these 11 tracks, and solid fiddle and accordion backing. I like the bleak “I just can’t see the beautiful†lyric. “High Wood†is tops with a Foss Paterson piano and a low talking Fish vocal; this one rolls into a big splashy snare midway and has a truly cool release of dynamics using a longer tune perfectly.
The oompah band opening of “The Gathering†is neato and again we hear Fish singing over a flangy acoustic. Though lyrically on this horn-full number, Fish might be beating us over the head singing about war again (there’s a lot of talk of graves, ravage of land, decimation here). But I like the menace of “Thistle Alley,†with its studied acoustic and how Steve Vantsis’s bass and Gavin Griffiths’ drums chunk into a great thick back beat; it’s a great, great tune. The music of “The Leaving†is great too (wonderful guitar work and drums), but guess what Fish is singing about again?
“The Other Side of Me” is the introspection I was waiting for since “Blind,†a perfect blending of voices, a lyric not about war, great guitar and fiddle playing. Antwi is featured in the swirling ender “The Great Unraveling,†another wonderful, personal lyric in a thick juicy production.
You can purchase the album here.