Ashley Reaks – Track Marks
DL
Out Now
8 / 10
Genre hopping musician and collage artist returns with his
new album.
There can be few artists as original as Ashley Reaks. His pure inventiveness alone is deserving of
wider recognition and his ability to continually break musical boundaries is insurmountable. It would be advantageous to say he has a sound
of his own but he doesn’t, he is constantly re-inventing himself and challenging
everything that has come before.
It is with this in mind that each new release is met with a
certain amount of excitement and expectation on these pages and fortunately,
the latter is never disappointing. Track
Marks is no exception, again Reaks brings us songs of everyday misfortune,
regret and disillusion bound together with bewildering musical arrangements and
vocal patterns. There are some constants
in the shape of Nick Dunne on guitar and Maria Jardardottir who provides some
of the most inspiring vocals with a range and style that is nothing short of
amazing and, regular saxophone breaks this time around supplied by Joel
Purnell.
Opener, Stale Mate begins with a retro sounding Nintendo riff
but soon includes Reaks’ pure vocals and a lovely bassline that continues
through some wonderful dub effects and a part rendition of When The Red Red
Robin from Jardardottir adding a smile to the proceedings. The album sees a lean towards improvised avant
garde rock with gentle sways towards early Genesis perhaps but also with leans
in the direction of the grown-up rock that many of us can well do without. The difference here is that knitted together
with the sharp lyrics and bewildering arrangements the final result is quite
inspiring.
Yes, I’ll Take My Pilgrimage contains almost every trick in the
book, probably even the kitchen sink as it transcends electro, jazz and rock in
one fell swoop making for one of the most fascinating listens on the album and
Exposing Fiona offers endless possibilities of subject matter but most importantly
holds a deep melodic masterpiece that only Reaks is capable of offering.
Tank From Grimsby features leader of The Angst Band, Paul
Middleton reciting some often hilarious spoken word and joins the league of
poets including Joe Hakim and more recently Equinox, that Reaks has continued to
use and support presenting yet another angle to his work.
In short, Ashley Reaks should be a national treasure. He is an incredibly talented artist and one
which deserves far more success and coverage than he receives. For an introduction to his work there is
really no starting point other than to dive right in and have a taste and, Track
Marks is as good a place as any to get yourself immersed.
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