Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The well of inspiration never runs dry if we are able to manage the expectation of quality and quantity to its full potential, we can draw upon it for all our life, watering our surroundings, nourishing our soul, feeding us that which spurs into action when we wish to consider art is above all and bathe in its beauty.

Jonathan Markwood’s Hoo-Hah Conspiracy has preserved the spring waters with integrity, they have mined deeper, they have continued to find fresh sources for the creative passions that come to fruition, and which keep the imagination intact, which keep them buoyant and sparkling with eager groove and wit, and in St. Milburga’s Well that same vision that has carried them through albums such as Television For Trees or Real Or Imagined sees the man behind the music step out once more and become in a very real sense the muse of the ideal, of being the path to which his own boots pound with joy and revelation.

St. Milburga’s Well maintains thebalance sowell sought and encouraged across Jonathan Markwood’s career, and as tracks such as At Times Like These, Elephants In The Room, the subtleness of It Isn’t Me It’s You, and the finale of Middle Of The Road find their way into the listener’s mindful conscious, digging around the well as if understanding their own part in navigating the waters of solitude and wishing to be part of something finer, more inclusive, and with feeling.

If we could all be assured such aspirations as we flick wistfully our pound coins into such wells that can carry dreams and wishes to other realms in the hope that they may come true, might be even explored and given a basis to which ambitions and character would be witnesses to even greater promises, then we would be in good company, in sterling camaraderie, with a musician who genuinely not only conserves the flow but who found a way to make sure that the well should never run dry.

Another example of why Jonathan Markwood’s Hoo-Hah Conspiracy is simply a sound of excellence, never leaving the listener parched or gasping, just always satisfied to the point of exuberance. Ian D. Hall