Pawlowski / Trouve / Ward - Volume 2

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 3 / 4 / 2017

Label: Jezus Factory
Format: CD

Mixed second joint album from former dEUS members Craig Ward, Mauro Pawlowski and Rudy Trouvé

Review

Craig Ward, who is Belgian by choice having moved there some years ago, has collaborated with native 'Belges' Mauro Pawlowski and Rudy Trouvé on a second album together. dEUS , in which all of the trio played but at different periods, left a dent on the indie music of the later 1990s. but Ward's four tracks on this illustrate why he's rightly regarded as a stipendiary composer in his native Scotland now. 'Sunless' counts as the most moving of his serene miniature works. Mauro Pawlowski performs the act of a timid clown or of a juggler on the wrong side of the curtains. Acting clever but without irony, his plastic disco pop falls short of natural wit and has no obvious goal in mind. His best contribution is the lullaby 'It's Gone' when his birdbrain comes to rest. His awful piss-take of Tina Turner's 'Simply The Best' on 'In Starlight' makes little sense. Rudy Trouvé's dozen tracks are of an entirely different nature. He knows his limits and restricts himself to a kind of psychotic folk pop. Field recordings plus digital enhancements combine well on 'Opening the Window' whilst another fine track 'Thin Can' recalls Kevin Ayers. The closing track features freeform nostalgia but loses momentum. A mixed bag this 'Volume 2'.

Track Listing:-

1 Mount Betsey
2 In The Wet Maze
3 Island To Any Island
4 Sunless
5 Attention: Music
6 Quiz Master Ghost Animal 1: The Sadness Inside
7 . In Ancient Times
8 Quiz Master Ghost Animal 2: 'Get It Right!'
9 Men In Sheds 1
10 . Quiz Master Ghost Animal 3: A Questionnaire Fantastic
11 Men In Sheds II
12 Attention: Murmurhor
13 Quiz Master Ghost Animal 4: Just Here, No Why
14 It's Gone
15 . In Starlight (We Must Be Alive)
16 May The 19th
17 My Nerves Are Stretched So Far They Have Become Like Violin Strings
18 . Sometimes
19 . Torch
20 Opening The Window On 16th June 2013
21 The Building In The Woods
22 Thin Can
23 At A Different Speed
24 German Organ
25 Life Support
26 Slow Dancers
27 September 1971