Three Cane Whale - Three Cane Whale

  by Andy Cassidy

published: 29 / 11 / 2011

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Three Cane Whale are Bristol trio Alex Vann, Pete Judge and Paul Bradley. Their eponymous debut album is a collection of inventive and eccentric folk melodies created using a mix of conventional and more esoteric instruments such as the lyre, the music box and the psaltery (a member of the harp family). Opening track 'Aphelion' is a charming music box piece clocking in at just under 40 seconds. 'Aphelion' sounds like a Vernon Elliot piece, and sets the mood perfectly for track two, 'Dancing Ledge', which features an expertly played mandolin along with a softened yet precise trumpet lead. The album continues with 'Skein', a harmonium-driven track with guitar accompaniment. The instrumentation is reminiscent of Yann Tiersen’s soundtrack for 'Amelie', and is superbly executed and melodically uplifting. I was extremely impressed to read that the entire album was recorded “live” in an eighteenth century Bristol church over the course of a marathon eleven hour session. Listening to the quality of the playing on the album, I had assumed that it had been overdubbed, but this is not the case – these guys can actually play! Composition-wise, there is enough to keep one interested, and the absence of vocals never gets in the way of one’s enjoyment. Listening to the album, one is struck by a sense of intimacy – I felt like I was in the church with the trio while they played. This is an album of understated quality, technically superb yet never pretentious. In places, I was reminded of the very best of the Incredible String Band. Even the packaging of the CD whispers quality – it is made of rough finished brown card with a monochrome print and a sepia toned photograph of the band on the gatefold. It is, however, the musicianship and the superbly crafted melodies which, rightly, steal the show.

Track Listing:-

1 Aphelion
2 Dancing Ledge
3 Skein
4 Eggardon Hill
5 Isserley
6 Alta (1)
7 Tycho
8 Look Up At The Sky (And Remind Yourself How Insignificant You Are)
9 Cassiopeia
10 Full Moon
11 The Stone Lanes
12 Noctule
13 The Brazen Head
14 Sleeping Out: Full Moon
15 Alta (2)
16 Sluice
17 Tilth
18 Postman's Park
19 Bird From A Cloud
20 Song Of Rescue

Band Links:-

http://www.threecanewhale.com/
https://twitter.com/3canewhale
https://www.facebook.com/threecanewhale

Label Links:-

http://www.idyllicrecords.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/idyllicrecords

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