Joe Breenreviews the latest offering from Willard Grant Conspiracy.
WILLARD GRANT CONSPRIACY
Pilgrim Road
Loose
***
The Willard Grant Conspiracy is actually a loose collective that collects around the portly shape of Robert Fisher. Originally formed over a decade ago in Boston, WGC have relocated to California, although this latest sample of their weighty deliberations was written and recorded in Glasgow with film-score writer Malcolm Lindsay.
The themes are the usual lightweight fare of the meaning of life, death and the great beyond, and Fisher's heavy-lidded voice carries the required sense of sombre reflection, as does the well-dressed music, with strings and choruses prominent.
That said, WGC are brave enough to risk accusations of pretension in their search for something truly meaningful. The Great Deceivermakes it, but Vespersis at the other end of the spectrum - and the album is somewhere in between.
[ www.willardgrantconspiracy.comOpens in new window ]
JOE BREEN
Download tracks: The Great Deceiver, Water & Roses, The Pugilist
