Held By Trees & Martin Smith: The ‘Held By Trees & Martin Smith’ EP

To sing, or not to sing, that was never the question. Or at least it hadn’t been on the first two EPs from David Joseph’s band/project Held By Trees. However, proving that the only thing that stays the same is change, the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that the band name has been elongated for this latest EP, with it’s clever non-title Held By Trees & Martin Smith letting you know immediately what’s going on here. A respected sing-songwriter in his own right, Smith has joined the Held By Trees ranks for this outing and proves to be the solution to that question that hadn’t really been asked before, this previously and wholly instrumental outfit literally finding a voice.

It’s a huge step for this collective to take and one that I certainly did not see coming, both Solace and Solace Live At Real World Studios/Eventide wonderfully realised in their instrumental brilliance. However, in Martin Smith, this act haven’t so much found a frontman, but instead another instrument to add to their sound - albeit one with lyrics and indeed that brings choruses to music that previously had eschewed such things. In essence there are only three tracks on display, albeit we do also get instrumental versions of all three and a further take on one. “You Deserve� opens, plaintive, floating, pensive and fragile, guitar lines sliding into the ether in echoes and whispers, as piano slowly gathers them into something more conjoined. All of which gently takes your hand and leads you back into the woods where you can be cradled by branches, so when Smith’s voice patiently and unobtrusively enters the fray, the results are much less shocking than anticipated. He’s an enigmatic, controlled presence and yet, one that maybe does have a commercial appeal that, as the song slowly unfurls from its crouching position to stand tall, becomes more apparent. If I was looking for comparisons, oddly, it’s something along the lines of David Gray that springs to mind and while everything here stays firmly ensconced in the Held By Trees world, it wasn’t necessarily the vista I was expecting to take in, even if the guitar work remains glorious, lush and impressive and the overall atmosphere stirring and involving. “Lay Your Troubles Down� follows a similar path but one that takes even longer to wend its way through the journey. Initially, the vocals here actually sit in an even less forceful setting, but as this near thirteen minute piece paces through its sections, the singing becomes louder, clearer and more exuberant, revealing what an impressive presence Martin Smith really is. “Oh, My Love� closes out the first run through of the three songs, a gently, but energetically funky beat heading in a completely different direction to what came before. In truth, by comparison, it feels a little throwaway, if good fun and live it could well become a set highlight as sax takes up the call.

From there those three tracks are then revealed in instrumental form and all still hold up well, but already having heard them with vocals, to me anyway, it feels like there’s a sudden and obvious space within the Held By Trees attack that hadn’t been there before, and as a result, none of the three quite have the same impact. Closing things out “Lay Your Troubles Down�, which does feel in all its forms like the centre of this release, is revealed in an even more floating - if also shorter - “Salt Of The Sound Ambient Version� setting. Unexpectedly, the briefer take lets some of the exuberant sides of the full version slip away and for me becomes even more powerful as a result.

We all take into music what we carry with us and while I was hugely intrigued at the prospect of hearing Held By Trees with vocals, the end results almost negate the austere world I like to step into with their music. That’s not to diminish how good any of the performances are here, but - and it’s early days - I think at this stage, this latest release will be the one I gravitate back to least from this still thoroughly intriguing project.

Track Listing
1. You Deserve
2. Lay Your Troubles Down
3. Oh, My Love
4. You Deserve (Instrumental)
5. Lay Your Troubles Down (Instrumental)
6. Oh, My Love (Instrumental)
7. Lay Your Troubles Down (Salt Of The Sound Ambient Version)

Added: September 23rd 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Held By Trees @ bandcamp
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Language: english

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