Nick Hudson and The Academy of Sun - My Antique Son

  by Andrew Carver

published: 23 / 4 / 2011

---

Nick Hudson has been praised by psychedelic luminaries Julian Cope and David Tibet, and such sonic travellers as Pink Floyd and Sunn0))) have been cited as influences, but those expecting a fuzzed out space trip from ‘Antique Sun’ should be prepared for an album that sounds more like the something geared to the kind of person who visits Victorian graveyards for kicks. ‘My Antique Dead’ lets Hudson set the stage with his stately croon over echoing piano, delicate string plucks and drifting synths. There’s an air of melodrama and loneliness, which continues on to ‘London’, which segues into violins and ambient noise as it nears the end. ‘Rupert Brooke’ takes a more direct approach, euologizing the titular war poet with a maudlin piano ballad that slowly moves to incorporate strings, as well as some less predictable vocal fuzz suggestive of a public announcement distorted by distance. ‘All the Pretty Horses’ livens things up with a frenzied guitar part halfway through, while the lyrics (“When the world says ‘I want you to be lonely’" is one choice line) and tone of ‘Idiot Song’ sound like something from the Morrisey playbook. Some lively flute at the start of ‘Scale’ cheers things up, while ‘Elysium’, with its largely wordless vocals and reverberating sounds is probably the album’s closest thing to a really psychedelic journey. (At its high end, Hudson’s voice may also make some folks think of Anthony and The Johnsons.) The two-part ‘Dead Souls’ sets a slightly jazzy note with its sliding progressions, but also exemplifies the entire album’s tendency to meander. Fortunately ‘The Pyramid God of Ahephi’ is a somewhat more focused effort, with some electronic noises injecting a bit more interest to Hudson’s high-pitched crooning. The next tune, ‘The Burning Sea’ does a bit to earn the Sunn0))) comparison with some droning and groaning, and probably earns a few more Tibet kudos with its ritualistic feel, chanting and rattle shaking. ‘En Fece De La Mer’ does a bit more droning - this time with what sounds like a harmonium - and has Hudson switching to French. ‘Hierocles’ finishes off with some female backing vocals sung in Latin and might strike some listeners as being a bit on the pretentious side. ‘The Crows Robes’ finishes things off ... unfortunately the CD-R copy sent for review skips badly at this point, so we’ll just say that it appears to follow in the vein of the rest of the album. ‘My Antique Son’ is definitely going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and may even send the impatient, or those who don’t care for melodrama into fits, but it should provide some moments of entertaining curiosity for fans of offbeat singer-songwriters in the vein of Scott Walker.

Track Listing:-

1 My Antique Dead
2 London
3 Rupert Brooke
4 All The Pretty Horses
5 Idiot Song
6 Scale
7 Elysium
8 Dead Souls Part One
9 Dead Souls Part Two
10 The Pyramid God Is Ahephi
11 The Burning Sea
12 En Face De La Mer
13 Hierocles
14 In Crow Robes

Post A Comment

---

Comment

Name

your name

Location

ie London, UK

Submit

Check box to submit

Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson

Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart

Malcolm Carter
Marie Hazelwood
Mark Rowland
Nick Dent-Robinson
Nicky Crewe
Nige Nudds
Philamonjaro
Richard Lewis
Shirley Procter
Spencer Robertshaw
Steev Burgess
Steve Kinrade

Steve Miles
Tommy Gunnarsson
Zena Grieg