After The Flood: After The Flood

Although it will be bookended by two solo albums by acoustic guitarist Neil Campbell, After The Flood, which is both the name of the album and the band performing it, is the second part of a trilogy. The first instalment was released earlier in 2018, The Outsider - News From Nowhere, a sublime collection that rewarded on many levels as it pulled from the William Norris book of the same name for inspiration; while the final act, Last Year’s News, will follow towards the end of this year. Here Campbell, who handles acoustic and electric guitar on this outing, as well as keyboards and handclaps, is aided by Marty Snape (Mighty Zeb/Bulbs/Babadub) who adds more acoustic guitar, keys and ‘electronics’; while joining the pair are Roger Gardiner on Overwater bass and Viktor Nordberg on drums. By it’s very nature that configuration marks this out as a differently styled collection from that which came before and so it proves.

What is unmistakable however is the main-man’s rather amazing prowess with six strings, as After The Flood imagines what music might become if, as some believe will happen sooner rather than later, the world came to an end and almost everything was destroyed. The belief here would appear to be that walls and boundaries would finally come tumbling down, with a cross continent journey undertaken by way of discovery. Hence we have the beautifully percussive “To Asia�, where a chiming precision is matched by an engaging guitar melody. Which then rubs shoulders with “From Africa�, the piece being redolent of the music from that area which Paul Simon took to world wide consciousness with Graceland. Here however, the mood and movement of that music is conveyed in a style that still keeps things intrinsically linked to the sounds which surround it on this album…. Close your eyes and you can see and feel the dancing and celebration this music would create.

The clever “Crossing Continents� blends the styles from these previous outings, highlighting the sharing and blurring of ideas, before “Europe After The Rain� adds a more Spanish flavour to the fluid guitar work and understated, relaxed rhythms. That all of these are preceded by the upbeat and gently forceful “To The New World� lays intertwining foundations for what is to come; the welcoming piece a perfect introduction to an ever engaging journey. However, it’s what arrives after the continent hopping that furthers the story and offers more insight, “Déjà Vu� countering some pensive fret picking against a Hammond burst and driving beat, as we move into territory that suggests jazz, rock, fusion and much more. “Higher�, while linked to what preceded it, is much more reserved in its fervour, the basis being little set plays of fret work and beats which surge and segue into the next, before the reflective tones of “5-HTP� alter the mood further. Solemn but beautiful, it’s virtually impossible not to pause your thoughts and simply soak it all in as the voice of Perri Alleyne-Hughes adds to the heady atmospheres, as they also do on the slightly more celebratory “Lantra�. Calling these two pieces prog rock would be a misnomer and yet, if they were arranged in a more jaggedly electronic fashion, it would be easy to imagine the likes of Porcupine Tree revelling in both.

“FiveOneSeven� adds a much more urgent Middle Eastern air, melody whirling and proud as the bullishness builds. Although it is maybe “Ten Men Dead� which surprises most, as a piece which seems to somehow bring together much of the journey we’ve taken up to now, and pull from all of those influences, brings the album to a close with the vocals from Ian Cantwell and Mark Jones moving things into a much more song based arena.

After The Flood is a bold and brave statement, its intentions broad in scope and possibly even broader in execution, even if the manner in which it is presented stays true to the acoustic guitar spirit that Neil Campbell’s work is most often centred round. Linked to its predecessor and yet completely different, if this second part of the guitarist’s trilogy teaches us anything, it’s that we should never presume what’s coming next. In that spirit, goodness only knows where the closing album in this 2018 trio will take us. If After The Flood is anything to go by, we’ll be in remarkably safe hands no matter where we end up.

Track Listing
1. To the New World
2. To Asia
3. From Africa
4. Crossing Continents
5. Europe After the Rain
6. Déjà Vu
7. Higher
8. 5-HTP
9. Lantra
10. FiveOneSeven
11. Ten Men Dead

Added: January 24th 2019
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: After The Flood @ bandcamp
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Language: english

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