ZapTown

Woodpigeon
Die Stadt Muzikanten / Spirehouse
Boompa
Rating: 3.7 out of 5 / 2.8 out of 5

Link: http://www.woodpigeon-songbook.com/

First digging into the newer five-song EP, Spirehouse, we find Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon bearing heart with more diffident acoustic workings in the vain of one Sufjan Stevens. Yet, surprising and rushing is the string overtaking deeper into the title track and I want to realize this to be a submissive but fostering confection before the LP. But, three uneventful musings later, we meet with an extraneous remix of said first song and not much that sticks. Allowing the full album to set the bar, missing here are the lavish arrangements and gorgeous harmonies that I would later be in for.

Beginning to track Die Stadt Muzikanten, Woodpigeon’s third record proper, I am flitted away to yesteryear by the vinyl crackle and seesawing arrangements of the eponymous opener. Cueing into “Woodpigeon vs. Eagleowl (Strength In Numbers)”, the window into this young release begins to prop open. Soft and plush are the harmonizing vocals on kindling “Morningside”; a highlight from the album’s first half sandwiched between two pert numbers.

There is plenty to leaf through here; Hamilton contributing 16 tracks on the record. He knows how to pen beautifully intricate compositions and spruce them up with the trappings of ambrosial orchestration. The listener will be taken aback by the powerful dynamic shifts that some of these songs feature. Many other groups in the twee pop category will utilize thin vocals and modest acoustic guitar arrangements, but when Hamilton goes full-voice on the hearty “Duck Duck Goose”, he separates Woodpigeon from the pack.

Not as emotionally arresting as William Fitzsimmons, or even Sam Beam, Hamilton’s afflicted delivery on the abbreviated “Unmissable Grey, Mixed Paint” aches with every imagerial line; similar in construction to Paul McCartney’s “Junk”. Affecting is the dark nostalgia of the highly personal “Such A Lucky Girl”; a track that burns slowly in seven minutes length.

“Spirehouse” from the EP is slotted in the ten spot here; sounding more reserved than before amid this resonating collection. Sometimes, the sheer volume of the instrumentation supersedes over Hamilton’s non-rock voice as he is heard trying to sing above the come-in of electric guitar and turned-up bass track on the final chorus of “Redbeard”.

Frequently, Hamilton sings with his tail between his legs and it compromises the focus of the record a bit. But, listen closely because Hamilton’s lyricism on the full-length is as refined as it’s ever been; rescuing songs that are not as immediate or obviously memorable.

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