Brambles – Charcoal

This is the brand new CD edition of Charcoal featuring artwork from the vinyl reissue. It also includes the bonus track featured on the vinyl release – a reworking of In The Androgynous Dark by Nest.

This is undeniably a night-time album, it has that still, peaceful quality to it, the same you get when you walk down a deserted street at night. And despite the slow pace, the music rarely seems melancholic – there’s a sense of contentedness which pervades the album from beginning to end. Mark seems very at ease with life and there’s a similar spirit to the music, it is deep, thoughtful and optimistic – in the words of Donal Whelan (who mastered the final album), “it’s like being wrapped up in a warm blanket”. Even the slightly more sinister “Deep Corridor”, which plunges you to the depths of the ocean, has that “cosy catastrophe” feel to it. I can’t help but think of Blade Runner and Vangelis when I hear it.