JELLY CLEAVER - The Forever Presence
https://jellycleaver.bandcamp.com/album/forever-presence
Jelly Cleaver - composition, production, guitar, vocals, synth, percussion; James Akers - saxophone; Lorenz Okello-Osengor - piano, rhodes, hammond organ; Katie Moberly - cello, electric bass; Hamish Nockles-Moore - double bass; Tash Keary - drums, percussion
Jelly Cleaver has emerged from the mighty Tomorrow’s Warriors organisation and straight into the media eye: she has received the Steve Reid Award, is a Serious Take Five artist, was nominated for an Ivors Composer Award, and had airplay on JazzFm and BBC 6 Music, with support from Gilles Peterson and Cerys Matthews indicating the crossover appeal of this set of languidly atmospheric songs. Tempos are relaxed, the rhythm arrangements are spacious and flowing: bass and drums set up loose-limbed grooves and Lorenz Okello-Osengor’s tinkling rhodes and Katie Moberly’s cello create washes of atmospheric texture over which James Akers’ attractively acidic tenor is allowed to roam at will. The jewel at the heart is Cleaver’s own clear, limpid-toned but emotionally charged vocals: sometimes, as on the title track, her voice doesn’t emerge until the mood has been thoroughly explored by the band, but she always commands attention. James Aker is joint star of proceedings and ‘Prayer For Rojava’ contrasts his grainy, impassioned attack with Cleaver’s calm stately vocal to memorable effect: ‘We Have Known Love” has a solemnly portentous spoken word manifesto whose exact meaning may elude some listeners, and closing track ‘Black Line’ uses Hammond organ and gritty guitar to shift the mood towards a satisfying prog-psych heaviness. The mood is so relaxed that album seems almost to have been spontaneously improvised in the studio, but the band are switched on and empathetic enough so that it doesn’t seem baggy or over-stretched and Cleaver’s guiding hand is present throughout to create an album with a powerful atmosphere that lingers on after each listen.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
https://jellycleaver.bandcamp.com/album/forever-presence
Jelly Cleaver - composition, production, guitar, vocals, synth, percussion; James Akers - saxophone; Lorenz Okello-Osengor - piano, rhodes, hammond organ; Katie Moberly - cello, electric bass; Hamish Nockles-Moore - double bass; Tash Keary - drums, percussion
Jelly Cleaver has emerged from the mighty Tomorrow’s Warriors organisation and straight into the media eye: she has received the Steve Reid Award, is a Serious Take Five artist, was nominated for an Ivors Composer Award, and had airplay on JazzFm and BBC 6 Music, with support from Gilles Peterson and Cerys Matthews indicating the crossover appeal of this set of languidly atmospheric songs. Tempos are relaxed, the rhythm arrangements are spacious and flowing: bass and drums set up loose-limbed grooves and Lorenz Okello-Osengor’s tinkling rhodes and Katie Moberly’s cello create washes of atmospheric texture over which James Akers’ attractively acidic tenor is allowed to roam at will. The jewel at the heart is Cleaver’s own clear, limpid-toned but emotionally charged vocals: sometimes, as on the title track, her voice doesn’t emerge until the mood has been thoroughly explored by the band, but she always commands attention. James Aker is joint star of proceedings and ‘Prayer For Rojava’ contrasts his grainy, impassioned attack with Cleaver’s calm stately vocal to memorable effect: ‘We Have Known Love” has a solemnly portentous spoken word manifesto whose exact meaning may elude some listeners, and closing track ‘Black Line’ uses Hammond organ and gritty guitar to shift the mood towards a satisfying prog-psych heaviness. The mood is so relaxed that album seems almost to have been spontaneously improvised in the studio, but the band are switched on and empathetic enough so that it doesn’t seem baggy or over-stretched and Cleaver’s guiding hand is present throughout to create an album with a powerful atmosphere that lingers on after each listen.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
