Lately, I’ve been getting schooled on the long-term existence of Post-Punk bands I should have known about for 40 years or more…but didn’t. Attrition being one that I’ve just addressed in the blog, with And Also the Trees being another. The Worcestershire band have long been active; exploring the shadowy side of their pastoral environment to attain a theatrical, yet organic and uncontrived vibe. “Mother-Of-Pearl Moon,” their sixteenth album, was recently released and we are catching up with it forthwith.

And Also The Trees: Mother-Of-Pearl Moon – UK – CD [2024]

1. Intro
2. The Whaler
3. Town Square
4. Mother-of-pearl Moon
5. This Path Through The Meadow
6. Valdrada
7. No Mountains, No Horizon
8. Visions Of A Stray
9. Field After Field
10. Ypsilon
11. Away From Me

It began with a brief, instrumental drone to set the mood with a pregnant pause before Justin Jones’ plaintive guitar drifted by with “The Whaler” in tow. There were connections to English folk music but with the vibe of Leonard Cohen or Crime And The City Solution. Where And Also The Trees really differentiated themselves was in the sonic palette they were exploring here. Rich with acoustic instrumentation with the scantest usage of a Moog synth imaginable to subtly color these dark, brooding gems.

The secret ingredient for my ears were the clarinet and bass clarinet of Colin Ozanne. I love the woodwinds [oboe may just be my favorite instrument for all I wax about analog synths…] but they get short shrift in what I’ll call Rock-adjacent music. They are an important part of the tonal coloration here and make me recall the glory days of “Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters,” my favorite Mick Karn album.

After that solid opener, the more dramatic “Town Square” hit us with sustained guitar chords and treble picking, mandolin style, to yield a sense of suspension not unlike what Scott Walker liked to explore on his more anxiety provoking albums. The gentle rhythms of drummer Paul Hill were abetted with shuffle beats and jazz fills that offset the pull of Ozanne’s clarinets and piano. The link to the Walkerspace became more pronounced with the title track, “Mother of Pearl.” The open, sustained chords and lyrics of courtesans preening could probably be traced backward to Engel DNA.

The sustained mandolin guitar and bass clarinet created a magical environment for “The Path Through The Meadow” to develop in. The song was not sung as much as recited by the deliberate, measured delivery of vocalist Simon Huw Jones. The dark poetry of the vibe also recalled that of Gavin Friday, albeit placed in a melodramatic yet largely acoustic setting. The swells of mandolin picked guitar and rolling tympani made the unexpected middle eight pre-climax and grandiose climax raise the song’s pressure as well as my eyebrows. Apparently not all of the band’s cards were played tightly to their vest.

The lively, shifting time signatures of the effervescent “Valdrada” brought the closest the band came to friskiness to the fore. The instrumental “No Mountains – No Horizon” was a nearly punishing foray into inhuman insect drone in its intro before coalescing into an impressive cinematic vibe [complete with howling harmonica] that felt like this band would have been cherry picked for a This Mortal Coil project if they were still being made. The speeding of the tempo at the song’s midpoint made for a pulse-quickening injection of adrenaline that was rare here and all the more powerful for it.

After the release of tension that the last song had brought, the mood became chillier on the reticent “Visions Of A Stray.” The haunting melody with unresolved synth drones and piano gave way to relentless train rhythms for the song’s unexpected motorik second movement. Complete with e-Bow guitar shot through it to coalesce into swirling eddies of sound until its swift, cold climax.

The instrumental “Ypsilon” was constructed out of little more than delicate guitar and Theremin-like organ drone before the rest of the instruments brought a sense of morning dew and rising sun to the decidedly crepuscular album. Leaving the concluding “Away From Me” with its gentle rolling of military snares in its climax to impart a sense of stoic resilience to the conclusion of the program.

This was an unparalleled album for dead of night listening. In fact, I think daylight playback would perhaps be a self-defeating idea this time. The brooding vibe just wasn’t meant for solar accompaniment. The heavy influence of sustained mandolins on Justin Jones’ guitar playing imparts a breathless sweep to this music that for the most part, eschews dynamism for the deliberate stillness of midnight. Instead they choose to gather forward momentum very selectively with regard to the vibe of the entire album. Making of it a unified work of art that would offer little in a shuffle playlist.

I’m not surprised to read that Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst both had strong ties dating back to the 80s with this band. The vibe is almost of a piece with that of Shelleyean Orphan; another acoustic pastoral band with strong ties to The Cure, and whose members contributed to the last This Mortal Coil album. With the exception that Shelleyean Orphan were accompaniment for a vibrant spring/summer morning with dandelion seeds catching the rays of the sun, And Also The Trees were far more comfortable clinging to the shadows. The album is available in the band’s store [UK] and Bandcamp [worldwide] each at the same moderate price points. DL/CD/LP can be had for £7.00/£10.00/£22.00 and the band have a full complement of their substantial oeuvre if you investigate the Bandcamp store. DJ hit that button.

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