Martyn Bates is a founding member of the eclectic '80s duo Eyeless in
Gaza and a prolific collaborator and solo artist. "Dance of Hours" is a
27 minute mini album that is essentially a continuation of his solo
work "Letters Written" begun in 1982. Bates plays most everything here:
piano, organ, bass and electric Hawaiian guitar plus additional vocals
on 2 songs by Elizabeth S. and co-production by former Gaza partner
Peter Becker. But, most importantly, is the voice. To say that Bates'
voice is heavenly is still an understatement. It is undeniably the
focal point of these richly melodic, poetic songs. In fact, the more
minimal the musical accompaniment, the better. "Poems Pennyeach" and
"Alone Reprise" (which are pretty much the same James Joyce piece, both
less than a minute apiece) and "The Heart Song" showcase only Bates'
golden throat within a reverberated cloud or intermittent background
vocalizations. The rest effectively couple the voice with flickers of
notes and drone. Though this album is brief it's still a very welcome
addition to Bates' catalog. And the insert thoughtfully contains all of
the lyrics, pure poetry in and of itself.
samples:
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