WHEN IN ROME

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Album Review

Conil - Strange Part Of The Country

Conil found me on Instagram and, after chatting about Greece, I discovered he had released a truly magnificent album several years ago. I promised him I would review it. Here goes.

I’ve always been a sucker for a slow burner which suddenly and unexpectedly explodes into life. The opener, Dog Meat Stew, introduces itself with just the singer and an acoustic guitar, immediately suggesting that you’re going to be listening to something like Joni Mitchell or early James Taylor. Next moment you’re surrounded by heavy psych guitars and an unlikely barrage of incredible instrumentation from this inspired band. It’s a brave start. You’re left wondering how you’ve never heard of this stuff! The title-track follows and there’s no let-up in the brilliance. Strange Part Of The Country heads straight for the chorus in its radio-friendly sing-along style. This could have been Conil’s Noughties anthem.

Years Between lets you get your breath back for a while as Danny Thompson plays some lovely light lines and Conil opts for a complete change of vocal style. It works effortlessly. It’s become apparent by now that the simple song structures allow the musicians complete freedom to create their own unique atmosphere. You’d be forgiven to think it was all done live and off-the-cuff.

Then it gets a bit weird. The first time you play the album you wonder why this track is there. Round Midnight is Conil’s homage to the jazz greats. Even Charlie Parker gets a nod. However, after you become familiar with the rest of the songs, you understand its essential place in the sessions. Rumoured to have the legendary Peter Green onboard, this tour-de-force has a “just returned from the pub” approach and it’s all the better for it. With Conil wearing his Screaming Jay Hawkins hat, we’re immersed into the late-night howling of a New Orleans bar. It’s gorgeous stuff - I could listen to an album of this kind of drunken sleaze on its own.

Then the band take us into darker more mysterious territory, reminding me of the avant-garde Bunnymen period of Porcupine. After The Hole is my favourite track. There’s a light keyboard intro, eastern notes and an ethereal mood. To my ears, this is a highlight and a production masterclass.

What a side of vinyl that would have been!

Time Settles and, perhaps, we do get a chance to settle. Acoustic guitar and some brushes on the kit slow things down. It’s almost a folk club ditty. Old Irish Drunks does some name-checking and is almost a straight traditional country tune until the trademark Conil sound comes crashing in toward the climax. Strange noises and a scream introduce Kitty’s Wake, which charmingly reminds of a 60s psychedelic pop delight, in the mode of Barrett & Co.

Waterfall is another banger. There’s a kindred spirit to After The Hole and again we’re kind of in Pink Floyd territory. I can only describe it as psych-folk. I’d love to hear a ten-minute version of this beauty.

Camden Town, with its gentle acoustic picking, is a gentle lullaby, perhaps to send us to bed? You could do with a lie-down after all that. And that’s it. It’s quite an achievement. I wasn’t sure where to file the CD, so I stuck him next to John Martyn and in between Joe Ely & Emmy-Lou Harris. I reckon that’s about right.

What a legacy that is! If you only make one album, make sure it’s a monumental one.

You can purchase this album from bandcamp at conil.bandcamp.com