Background

Five years after the release of their last CD, no-man come back with an album that may be their best yet. Tim Bowness (vocals) and Steven Wilson (instruments) crafted eight songs beautifully arranged with the help of such musicians as saxophonist/flautist Theo Travis (David Sylvian, Porcupine Tree, JBK and many more), drummers Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, ex-Mr Mister) and Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree and King Crimson) and even the London Session Orchestra (arranged by Dave Stewart), only to name a few. But most importantly, Schoolyard Ghosts is a real tour-de-force between the two geniuses behind the band.

Overview

The album is not far stylistically from no-man's two previous releases - the laid-back Returning Jesus (2001) and the pretty much drone-based Together We're Stranger. Just like these two, the new album consists mostly of slow, delicate songs arranged mostly for acoustic instruments, far from the regular rock fashion. However, unlike its somewhat sleepy predecessor, Schoolyard Ghosts features quite a lot of drum parts for no-man's recent standards and at some points (on purpose or not) even incorporates some of the elements known from the band's older releases. Overall, it sounds more eclectic than what might have been expected.

Track by Track

The very beginning of Schoolyard Ghosts comes as a little surprise as the vocals in the opening tune All Sweet Things start in the very first second, avoiding the usual ambient openings the band is known for. The song itself, as its title suggests, is a sweet (though not happy!) song based mostly on piano and acoustic guitar, and sets the mood for the rest of the album perfectly. Tim's voice sounds very calm and emotional at the same time. Steven adds some backing vocals and even plays a simple melody on glockenspiel.

Beautiful Things You Should Know, credited Bowness / Giancarlo Erra, follows in a close-to-bossa nova rhythm provided by Colin Edwin (on fretless acoustic bass) and percussionist Rick Edwards. The next song, Pigeon Drummer, is the most surprising on the whole album. After a short spooky mellotron melody (played by Tim) the band suddenly enters with one the noisiest and fastest pieces of music they ever did, somewhat reminiscent of the album Wild Opera (1996). "Rhythm terrorist" Pat Mastellotto provides the heavy back bone for this bit with his V-drums. This bit is contrasted with a softer vocal part in the same tempo, which makes the track really stand out. The song ends with a long, slow coda, much in the style of Together We're Stranger.

The 4th track, Truenorth, is a 3-part, 14-minutes long epic, structured in a similar way to Porcupine Tree's Anesthetize. The slow and dreamy first part is and based around a piano part played by Bowness. The second is structured as a pretty conventional song, but stands out thanks to some beautiful flute playing by Theo Travis against Wilson's dark acoustic guitar arpeggio and great string arrangements. The electronic drums, major key and Tim's light sounding vocals in the upbeat closing section may be a distant echo of the band's early material.

The next song, Whenever There Is Light, brings us back to today with a similar mood to the album's opener. Though this time electric guitar, accompanied by a sweet ambient background) carries the song. It also allows the listener to take a breath after the two previous numbers and brings us into Song Of The Surf. This track opens again with some darker sounding guitar and pretty depressing lyrics. The mood changes as the song progresses though, and Mastelotto provides some soft percussion that Crimson fans may remember from Deception Of The Thrush for instance.

Streaming, which comes next, is a pretty light-hearted song backed with some programmed drums, this time resembling songs likes of Carolina Skeletons from Returning Jesus. Although not bad, it might as well be treated as only a preparation for the albums last track. Mixtaped opens with guitar sounds that are not that far from Porcupine Tree's Russia On Ice. Gavin Harrison provides some tasty percussion, and surprisingly doesn't use his signature double kick. Tim signs in a very delicate, while Steven builds the atmosphere using various instruments. Although the music flows very slowly, it has the emotional edge that a good closer should have.

Additional Stuff

Schoolyard Ghosts comes with a bonus DVD-A featuring a 5.1 mix of the album. Sadly, I can't comment on it, as I don't have the equipment to listen to it. However, the DVD also features three videos, of which the b/w Truenorth (part 2) seems the most interesting, corresponding very well with the song. All Sweet Things is also b/w, and features both Tim and Steven, while Whenever There Is Light is full of beautiful colours.

The first 2000 copies pre-ordered from Burning Shed also come with a bonus CD of alternate versions and edits from the album. The most interesting bits are the string section from Truenorth (part 1) which sounds very strong on its own and Pigeon Beater which is an alternative, more rhythmic version of the 2nd part of Pigeon Drummer.

Last Words

On "Schoolyard Ghosts" no-man continue to build their amazing musical landscapes, painted with a haunting voice and multi-layered parts of various instruments, never missing the emotional edge that they used us to. I could go on and on about how great this music is, but perhaps the best bottom line is that these are beautiful songs you should know.

Prime Cuts:
Pigeon Drummer, Truenorth, Mixtaped

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