Pascal Babare - Thunderclap Spring

  by Lisa Torem

published: 7 / 11 / 2009

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Review

For one born down-under, southern Australian song-writer Pascal Babare’s compositions tend to be delightfully over the top. Raised by a musical family – his mother sings in a chorus and his father played in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - Babare’s unorthodox upbringing apparently fueled his muses. Fascinated by ashram existence, chanting and an incessant search for meaning he contacted one of his idols. To this day he keeps close to his heart a letter former Beach Boy Brian Wilson sent him – which advised Babare to focus on the heart’s vibrations. It seems he has. Starting out as a drummer, Babare explored guitar, harmonium and by nineteen he had composed and recorded his debut ‘Thunderclap Spring’ which time-travelled through Japan, London, urban sludge and the random carnival. This thirteen track album immediately captures your imagination with random, breath-taking compositions titled: ‘lumberjacks burn green wood,’ ‘sweet bee, brother bear’ and ‘golden vulture, the silver vulture.’ Most songs are originals, though the track ‘ceremony’ – a cover by Joy Division – is not, but is immaculately detailed in its structure, tethered by tambourine, but performed in a much more subdued hush than the original. ‘elise, we are vikings’ starts the dreamscape off with frail repetitious melodies, thundering percussion and feathery vocals. ‘cracks the heads’ follows and the percussion is so thrashy it sounds like escaped prisoners are rolling oil tanks through stone-threwn dark alleys to ward off police inspectors. Though that may sound disconcerting, within its musical framework, the final product conveys a brilliant atmosphere. A few songs focus on satisfyingly chunky guitar chords and more delicate string progressions, but the song ‘ceremony’ is so raw you can hear the fret board squeal as hands grace its surface. ‘elizabeth’ is rife with suspended, disjointed phrases which segue to blinding bass and ‘soft focus’ harkens to a heaving organ and a chilling drum bearing an overpowering anthem that shadows the military tattoo bagpipe processional.‘white noise’ is ladled over strands of pretty melody and ‘lumberjacks burn green wood’ features that by now a hallmark , Babare’s thread-bare weepy guitar, while ‘sea salt water’ underscores a fragile trace of harrowing melody. In essence, Babare has an astonishingly beautiful debut for one so young. Filled with sensorial fragrance and misty clumps of rough-hewn reality culled from nature and ambient touches, I’d say it’s a hit. I’ll be waiting intently for the next bonafide blast-off.

Track Listing:-

1 Elise, We Are Vikings
2 Cracks the Head
3 Golden Vulture, Silver Vulture
4 Ceremony (Joy Division)
5 Elizabeth
6 Soft Focus
7 Some Woods, Somewhere
8 Lumberjacks Burn Green Wood
9 Surrounded by Pine Plantations
10 Sea Salt Water
11 Sea Bells
12 Sweet Bees, Brother Bear
13 Lanterns