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Album Reviews
Wide-ranging dark-edged, folk-tinged, psychedelia (October 07, 2009)
One way to get noticed is to have a weird name (even if you’re
a one-man band). How about God’s Little Eskimo? The other is to create arresting,
disturbing and intriguing music. That’s what you get with a new album ‘At Play
in Borley Rectory’ from God’s Little Eskimo - out 19 October on ArtScare
records.
This musical curio may not be to collective taste. With its wide-ranging
set of dark-edged, folk-tinged, psychedelia it takes some listening - but has more
to offer each time. There’s immense intensity and insight in this work. Some is
poetical whimsical wandering; some
 is faintly threatening and unsettling, some is
pure ghost story. Johnny Restall, aka God’s Little Eskimo, handles vocals,
guitar, glockenspiel, autoharp, melodica, piano, loop station, musical saw, recorder,
tambourine, shaker, percussion, wine glasses, bottles, radiator (and probably the
kitchen sink as well).
The experience sets in motion with ‘Diving into Ash’ built
on a miasma of moaning saws, melodica and tinkling wine glasses. ‘Forgotten
Maps, Forgotten Languages’ (with percussion on radiator) is a gently layered
wave of harmonies. ‘Penguin Eggs’ has wistful vocals sliding over a whimsical
melody as it conveys feelings of loss in cold wastes. ‘Marianne, Please Help
Get’ exudes overtones of eastern dance and rattles along. ‘Who's That Calling
Your Name?’ just begs to be the soundtrack of a horror film and mightily powerful
it will make it. There’s a piercing everyday narrative quality to the lyrics of
‘The Edwardian Soldiers Ghost’ that make the mood even more pertinent. I could
go on but the best way to understand what’s happening here is to listen.
There’s enough strangely strange quirkiness here for the
most ardent fan of the bizarre, equally there’s enough musical intrigue to plumb
the depths of your imagination. Possibly there’s a challenge for God’s Little Eskimo
to precisely reproduce this finely architectured music in a ‘live’ environment
(even allowing for dragging the radiator along). However, I’d guess the stripped
down version will still be well worth hearing.
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