Great North Star: Great North Star

It’s not often that a band tells you about the listening experience they hope you to have, as most leave that to our interpretation. The duo comprised of Dean Thom (guitars) and Phil Considine (percussion, production) are two seasoned musicians from the UK that have set out to create an atmospheric listening experience with the suggestion that it is perfect for long, lonely walks over rolling hills under brooding skies. Their bandcamp page simply states, music from the moorlands.

The band has a video for the opening track “Gliese 581g� on YouTube. The imagery is of a dark overcast day, with views of moving water (waves). Adding a visual to this type of music is helpful in capturing the spirit of the music. You do need to be in the right mood, and that has to be taken into account when you decide to put this disc on. Gently clean delayed guitar lines are played over a pulsing background, and that guitar sound is found throughout the 11 tracks. “Dagger Dubber� has acoustic guitar with more delayed guitar complimented by subtle haunting background music. This track harkens back to the Windham Hill label (as does “The Stones That Speak�), reminding me of the many guitarists that they featured. “Deus Ex Machina� follows in the footsteps of the previous track, with a Pink Floyd influence, but the organ/keyboard sits to loud in the mix. “Glories� features acoustic guitar and a pretty melody, but somehow the mix does not capture the mood. “Song of the Ocean� does a better job of blending sounds underneath the various guitars weaving through, but becomes much too repetitive for its short 4 minutes in length.

As I have listened to this CD, it seems to beg for more variety and a production that captures and creates a more atmospheric listen. The music is well played, and would compliment a long walk through the woods or a meditation. I think in those contexts it works best.

Track Listing
01. Gliese 581g
02. Dagger Dubber
03. Deus Ex Machina
04. Glories
05. Getting A Fix
06. Song Of The Ocean
07. The Stones That Speak
08. Being & Nothingness
09. 750
10. Dagger Dub
11. Birds On The Dee Estuary

Added: September 11th 2021
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 638
Language: english

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