The Flying Change “Pain is a Reliable Signal’ (Scarlet Shame, 2009)

Not quite turning pain into pleasure

This was recorded live in just two takes after extensive rehearsal with a cast of musicians that numbers fourteen, and thematically it concerns itself with the chronic debilitating back pain suffered by Sam Jacob’s wife. The approach works quite well; the sound is organic, and the first half of the record is a suite of chamber pop songs, with gentle sounds and vocals, a soothing balm for the pain. ‘Broken Bow’ is the gentlest, with swells of pedal steel and ripples of piano providing the right basis for the stoic vocal. A halo of plucked strings circle ‘The Mayo Clinic’ and a gentle nuzzle of mandolin pushes ‘Dirty White Coats’ forwards.

It gets noisier with horns and bursts of electric guitar and an injection of tempo for ‘The Ways That We Destroy Ourselves’. There’s musical respite on ‘Hold My Heartache,’ the lyrics dealing with real pain, not the metaphorical or metaphysical, but the real pain that interrupts, disrupts and destroys - the music doesn’t quite resolve into a medicated haze, it is soothed though. Again this is short lived, dirty needles of guitar mark the beginning of ‘St Mary’s.’ The well modulated vocals are ripped up, no longer accepting fate - there’s anger as the music finds itself somewhere between Brain May’s guitar and the Flaming Lips, where melody is all but abandoned.

After all the diagnosis and treatment the last two songs find some peace, stripped back. ‘The Northern Bay’ is full of echo, piano and voice, it is a restful interlude, a place where pain is in remission. The concept is the reason for the album’s existence and I’m sure the writing and recording was cathartic, at times the helplessness and adriftness are clear, the ensemble providing everything that could be asked of them and the arranging and recording skills of Paul Brill should be praised. As you might expect this is a record for quiet contemplation, therapeutic for those struggling to comprehend the unfeeling universe.

Date review added:  Thursday, April 02, 2009
Reviewer:  David Cowling
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Not quite Holby City