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Some months back I played a tune from the last Thieves’
Kitchen CD Shibboleth for a friend. And much to his surprise
it didn’t sound anything like he’d been led to believe the
band sounded like. He was more than pleasantly surprised,
made a note and purchased the CD. Based on what he’d read
or heard, he thought Thieves’ Kitchen were more of a “mainstream”
sounding band, which if you’ve heard any of their music you
would know that’s simply not true. Now with their fourth release
The Water Road, Thieves’ Kitchen go even further to emphatically
demonstrate their desire to go beyond the “mainstream.” ***
The band has undergone a slight change in line-up. Still
in place from their last outing is Amy Darby (vocals, percussion,
recorder, Theremin), Andy Bonham (bass), Phil Mercy (guitars)
and Mark Robotham (drums). New on keyboards is Thomas Johnson.
On the disc they also have the assistance of Anna Holmgren
(flute), Stina Petterson (cello), Mattias Olsson (loops) and
Paul Beecham (saxophone, oboe).***
Never afraid to tackle the epic tunes The Water Road
starts off with the stellar “The Long Fianchetto” (24:01)
featuring loads of Mellotron (recorded at Anglagard’s Studio
in Stockholm by the way) and more twists and turns than you
can shake a stick at. Flutes, cellos, searing guitars, grand
crescendos, stirring melodies and long instrumental sections
interspersed with delicate vocals from Darby. Classic Symphonic
prog! There are a number of times where this particular piece
reminds you of Glass Hammer, although to be clear Thieves’
Kitchen put their own mark on the music in many ways such
as with Mercy’s distinctive guitar sound and style. There
are other times throughout the disc where there’s just a hint
of that Scandinavian quirkiness often heard in some of the
odder Flower Kings compositions, a kind of melancholy Avant-prog.
In total there are eight compositions on The Water Road all
but two of them almost eight-minutes or longer. But even the
two shorter tracks have much to offer. This being the band’s
fourth official release, the performance is that much more
confident as are Darby’s vocals. They’re able to tackle a
tune like “Chameleon” (9:00) which is pleasantly melodic throughout
featuring some beautiful melodies with chorused reeds, flutes
and Mellotrons or “Om Tare” (7:44) which features a more aggressive
almost jazz-fusion infused early Yes styled performance with
angular stinging guitar, organs and Mellotrons or even the
mostly moody, dreamy and atmospheric “When the moon is in
the River of Heaven” (7:47) which builds in intensity but
never goes over the top and great thing is the band handles
all of these different styles and more with equal ability.***
Over the years Thieves’ Kitchen have traced a remarkable
musical path, with each disc displaying more and more complexity.The
Water Road is to my ears a stunning release! Fans of the band
are way ahead of the game, but if you haven’t picked up on
Thieves’ Kitchen yet, what are you waiting for? Fans of bands
such as Glass Hammer or Underground Railroad and others along
those lines will be blown away by what they hear on The Water
Road. It get’s my highest recommendation.
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