Shed - NEED MORE SOURCES CD

This is the first full-length release by the UKs Need More Sources (Chris Stewart). With this debut, yet another dimension of sound is incorporated into the Moteer extended family, through delicate orchestration and evocative, Satie-inspired piano. Reminiscent of everyone from Colleen to Jon Brion, Ryuichi Sakamoto to Ted Barnes, Shed stands up as one of the labels most inspired releases to date. Nothing is really known about Chris Stewart, except what is presented to us through the ten songs of Shed. But its better that way -- the songs relish in their anonymity, encouraging the listener to overlay their own personal stories of love and loss over the wordless lyricism of string quartets and hushed guitars. Sentimental without becoming twee or melodramatic, Stewart owes a similar debt to modern American folk music as the likes of Max Richter or Goldmund, with tracks such as "Storm" and "Rain." Nine tracks in and the clouds break for a moment, as "Sun" warms us with its glorious beams of light. Questionably the highlight of the album, the listener is treated to some of the most beautiful strings this side of Vaughan Williams, as a solemn guitar quietly strums. The level of quality and workmanship that all have come to expect from Moteer has now been raised to the next level, thanks to the beautiful intricacy of Need More Sources. What an age we live in; where pocket symphonies can grow from spare bedrooms (or sheds) around the globe and change your outlook and perception of modern music forever.Additional Info: Having performed with the Boats, Chris Stewart veers into a solo tack with Need More Sources, a contemplative instrumental act that creates a delicate series of songs on the debut album Shed. Nearly everything about the release emphasizes calm understatement -- even the dramatic imagery of what appears to be angels fighting on the front cover is partially obscured by layers of paper and color -- and from the start, with the lengthy, slowly unfolding "Morning," tones and a basic core melody added to later by further textures and what sounds like a violin, that atmosphere is established and maintained. Though on his own, Stewart does a very good job at making a one-man-band; songs like "Storm," with its steady, subtle drumming, and the equally striking "Valley," where the beats build up into a near wallop as keyboards and strings interweave and rise, feel like full live performances done very well indeed. A good majority of the tracks are piano-led, and comparisons to a variety of modern classical and ambient performers are understandable, given Stewart's embrace of the style if not always of the particular songwriting approach -- if anything some pieces suggest the experiments on the instrument that Vini Reilly has occasionally recorded, while others, such as "Autumn," parallel some of the work of Piano Magic at their most serene and elegiac. Certainly "Rain" seems to define that latter term, at once a beautiful celebration and a mournful reflection in its combination of bowed and plucked strings (or samples thereof). Touches from more recent developments are subtle but present -- the jittery, shifting crackle of percussion on "Snow" and toward the end of "Spring" isn't necessarily glitch but isn't too far removed, either. ~ Ned Raggett

Specifics

• Album: Shed
• Artist: NEED MORE SOURCES
• Label: MOTEER
• Genre: Electronic, Rock
• MPN: moteer::012cd

1. Morning
2. Breeze
3. Autumn
4. Storm
5. Snow
6. Rain
7. Valley
8. Spring
9. Sun
10. Twilight

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