SLEEP STATION ‘After The War’
(Bardic Records)(2004)
I let a colleague listen to this on a recent train journey back from London - ‘- a bit like Pink Floyd. Pleasant, but I don’t like didn’t like the ‘scratchy’ bits!’ And that about sums it up for me too.
'After The War' is a concept album form the pen of Sleep Station frontman Dave Debiak and tells the story of the effects of World War II on an array of characters.
Much of the album was recorded on 1940’s microphones and amps but you wouldn’t know it - the sound is rich and polished.
‘A bit like Floyd’. Undoubtedly (with Gilmour absent on a tea break) - the title track and Goodnight To The Moon are particularly Waters-esque. And other tracks - Caroline, London 1940, and Come Back Again are loaded heavily with Lennon / McCartney harmonies.
‘The scratchy bits’ - the fillers that segue the tracks are presumably supposed to be a soundtrack to the period and are there to add realism and atmosphere. For me, they simply extend the length of the CD and would probably grate after repeated listens.
But the standout track is Burden To You - a gentle acoustic number with lovely hooks and Beach Boys harmonies. If Ronan Keating recorded it, it would sell a million.
So how would I sum it up? ‘- a bit like Pink Floyd. Pleasant, but I don’t like didn’t like the ‘scratchy’ bits...’ I concur with my learned colleague.
***
Review by Pete Whalley
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