Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
To live not just in the moment of creation but in the time of musical enlightenment is a special skill that is difficult to master, but once achieved it is unquestionable in its delivery, it is saluted in its execution, and one to whom should be etched like figures in the stained effigies that adorn vaunted churches and private lands with chantries offering salvation and art.
For the southern roots pairing of Megan Barbera and Brad Armstrong, one versed in the stated Colorado mountains open space air and the close intimacy of Birmingham where history meets battering ram and the plain speaking of civil rights, the new album, Chapel Glass, represents a special understanding with time and sound, exclaiming with virtuosity the informality of tenderness and creating a set of songs that hold relationships dear.
The special quality of the album is underlined by the time it took to bring the songs to fruition, recorded in under a week at Dial Back Sound in Mississippi and done with care and attention by Clay Jones and utilising Drive-By Truckers’ Matt Patton on bass, and Jason Lucia on drums, the result is one of seclusion in detail, of merging effectively pleasure with intent, and does so with honest fragility.
The Glass Hours sings of time and in tracks such as the opener Adaline, the bounty of Man Who Had Everything, Not Your Ordinary Heart, Providence, and the joyous acclimation of voice and instrument in harmony of In The Pines, and the effect is stirring, reminiscent of the way the great Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel entranced audiences with the way they produced The Boxer, a kind of dissociation of space but which feels quite unique, and powerfully aware.
To live in time and be responsive to the fingers of the occasion carefully weave a situation of clarity is a boon to the listener and one to which will be entertained and enjoyed with equal observations. Chapel Glass is an expression of art that captivates through any stained-glass window and its reverie.
Ian D. Hall