final trafalgar thoughts probably
okay. “trafalgar” complete. guys it’s just a real downer. it’s well-composed for sure, has great flow as an album, but is overwhelmingly sad. crushing, in a way. they all sound like they’re in legitimate pain, emotional and sometimes physical, singing through the songs. “lion in winter” in particular sounds physically painful for robin to sing. surely it was an artistic choice, and they were relying on his ability to just make you FEEL things with his voice, but there is a point maybe where it no longer has the desired musical effect and just sort of hurts. it sounds like maybe it just sort of hurt. all three brothers had their vocal abilities really pushed on this album. barry had to really sell “i don’t wanna live inside myself” and pulled it off well. closest comparison from their catalog is “i was the child” but without the charm of walking around and touching every bit of woodwork in a castle.
the orchestration really adds a lot to the feel of the album, creating cohesion between the tracks. as i said earlier, big moody blues vibes at times. i really appreciate the musicality of it, but again it is just...sad. it feels heavy and sad and like a weight on my chest, shades of giles corey.
it’s hard to pick highlights for this one. i usually find three or four tracks that really jump out at me as special. “trafalgar” is probably the best song on “trafalgar,” followed closely by...idk something else? everything just sort of runs from one sad thought to the next without any breaks. knowing that allegedly “how can you mend a broken heart” and “lonely days” which appeared on two separate albums were written in the same afternoon, i have a lot of questions about how those two albums were built and produced. also knowing that mo had an unreleased solo album get kind of absorbed after “cucumber castle” and before “trafalgar,” which may have had some music repurposed into compositions appearing on “trafalgar” makes me incredibly curious to hear the unreleased album in its entirety. anyway if you need me, “trafalgar” has dragged me to the bottom of the ocean to let the weight of the sea crush the very air from my lungs. 7.8/10












