Held By Trees: Solace - Live At Real World Studios / Eventide

The debut album Solace from Held By Trees was one of the unexpected highlights of 2022, that multi-cast recording centred round guitarist and songwriter David Joseph and looked to the likes of Talk Talk and latter era Pink Floyd for a starting point, before blending in some hugely intriguing sounds of their own. The whole endeavour was also a Climate Positive Music project, and as such was/is inspired by nature and the natural world.

By way of quick follow up, Held By Trees return with not one but two EPs, Solace - Live At Real World Studios and Eventide. The former of the two is a 5 track live studio recording where music from the debut album is reworked into ever evolving pieces that are often reminiscent of their originals without slavishly following them. It’s an interesting prospect but one that Jospeh stated would be followed when the band performed live on stage, so to hear that process in these recordings is hugely interesting as “In The Trees�, “Rain After The Sun� and “Mysterium� paint their enigmatic pictures. Moody, introspective and yet with an optimistic heart I can only imagine the impact they’d create in the true live arena. It’s a cast of six who are responsible for these new versions, Joseph, Robbie McIntosh (guitar), Laurence Pendrous (piano), Andy Panayl (flute, clarinet, saxophone), James Grant (bass, double bass) and Paul Beavis (drums) working almost telepathically as they revel in the freedom to stray from the studio versions. Jospeh even going as far as to say that drummer Paul Beavis intentionally never quite plays the same thing twice for a song, keeping the rest of the band on their toes and the freshness there for all to hear. “The Tree of Life� then ups the intensity, gritty but ultra patient guitars creating a heady setting before the beautiful emotional release of “The New Earth� brings this first EP to a close.

If bought on vinyl, this would be the end of side one, with Eventide filling out side two, whereas on CD both EPs receive their own bespoke release, and it has to be said that the artwork for all three versions is quite breathtaking.

Eventide, based round the change of light as day moves into night, finds five completely new tracks pulling at the edges of what Held By Trees have offered up to this point, with a true almost soundtrack feel and some jazzier elements opening up new possibilities. It’s the same six musicians as before as “Pure Sunlight� breaks through the clouds and fills the air with fruitful possibilities. The music is still deep and intense and yet the guitar tone here is stirring and hopeful, the uplifting air unmistakable, before “The Golden Hour� shimmers with the mood of impending closure and the melancholy that another day is drawing to a close. A feeling then heightened as piano slowly tumbles into “The Blue Hour�, saxophone adding to the feeling that the gloom is descending into “Grow Dark�. Here however, the tone, while still measured, begins to offer a little more by way of dancing melody, with the belief that the darkness doesn’t necessarily ensure despair then borne out by the surprisingly resolute “Nightfall� where possibly the EP’s steadiest beat takes us by the hand and plunges us into the small hours with more than a note of optimism.

The journey from the Solace album through Solace - Live At The Real World Studios into Eventide is one that I recommend taking, these EPs a beautiful accompaniment to the previous release from Held By Trees. Both of these short, beguiling releases stand strongly on their own merits, but this outfit are building a hugely cohesive, complimentary body of work that truly feels like a journey from release to release. The picture Held By Trees are painting is both grand in scale and beautiful in intention, when brought together the results are utterly captivating.

Track Listing
Solace - Live At Real World Studios
1. In The Trees
2. Rain After Sun
3. Mysterium
4. The Tree Of Life
5. The New earth

Eventide
1. Pure Sunlight
2. The Golden Hour
3. The Blue Hour
4. Grow Dark
5. Nightfall

Added: August 11th 2023
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Held By Trees @ bandcamp
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Language: english

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