Description
Label Review.
2020 album. Paul Webb (formerly of Talk Talk). Also available on Vinyl.
Our Overview.
Former Talk Talk and O.Rang bassist Paul Webb made his first record under the moniker of Rustin Man eighteen years ago with Beth Gibbons, on their collaborative album ‘Out Of Season’. Fast forward to now and he’s putting out his second solo album ‘Clockdust’; the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Drift Code’ and his second release in two years.
The roots of ‘Clockdust’ can be found in the same extended sessions that birthed ‘Drift Code’. “Early on I realised I had two albums worth of material,” Webb explains. “The first tunes I wrote were electric guitar based, with long arrangements that built up in layers to something sonically quite dense. These became the bulk of ‘Drift Code’. As a reaction, I wrote a batch of songs that were tighter in their structure but had more feeling of space. These make up the bulk of ‘Clockdust’.
“I think of the album as containing stories from people who’ve reached their present situation through many years of experiences,” he adds.
‘Clockdust’ draws upon an armoury of instruments, some, like the euphonium, unfamiliar in such contexts and plenty - the kokoriko, the okónkolo - with even more unfamiliar names. Each track, too, indicates Webb’s fondness for the path less travelled, its twists and turns at first jarring but soon intuitive. That they’re embellished by a voice which has seemingly endured many lifetimes emphasises their mysterious nature. That its recording was soundtracked by Jacques Brel, Jet Harris and Kurt Weill no doubt contributed too. That many songs are inspired by old movies enhances their ageless atmosphere yet further.
Tracklisting: Carousel Days / Gold & Tinsel / Jackie’s Room / Love Turns Her On / Rubicon Song / Old Flamingo / Kinky Living / Night In The Evening / Man With A Remedy