Floating Above Everything Else is the debut full length album by Keeley, that follows on from the two earlier ep's Brave Warrior and Echo Everywhere, as well as a series of singles all of which focus on the tragic murder of Ingar Maria Hauser in the spring of 1988 as detailed in www.thekeeleychronicles.wordpress.com as sadly over thirty years later this murder is still unsolved, even if the names of the main suspect is well known, the Irish police have never made any arrests. The chronicles detail everything that is known and can be published without prejudicing a trial, it's over 110,000 words delving into this mystery. For this album Keeley are Keeley Moss vocals and guitar with Alan Maguire guitar and Keyboards, with help from Morgan Fisher, Tom Fenner and others. Production and mixing is by Alan MaGuire and Paul Tipler.
The A-side opens with Seeing Everything that fades in at a glacial pace before the crystalline guitars give a sense of calm, that's disturbed by the questions in the lyrics as to where Inga Maria Hauser has disappeared too, wondering what she dreamed of what her life might have become had she lived and completed her travels.
Arrive Alive is gauzy indie pop that hopes anyone going on a journey Arrives Alive, as of course Inga did when she arrived in Northern Ireland that fateful day, sadly she was not alive for much longer.
The Glitter And The Glue has grown on me since first hearing it, as the hope at the songs core has been destroyed, leaving the utter mess in the gutter, this is a deceptive song as the dark heart of this tale unfolds the guitars and drums remain totally upbeat.
Floating Above Everything Else has Inga looking down, as Keeley states she would have happily been friends with Inga had they the chance to meet in the normal course of life. The gentle melancholy that imbues this song tries to make sense of the most senseless of unsolved crimes.
To A London Sunrise reflects on Ingar's last morning in London before she made the fateful journey to Ireland, the lyrics are like a diary entry for a young girl on her first big travel adventure, awed at being able to wake up in London, just how magical that feels as you enjoy your Interrail adventure as you approach your 19th birthday.
Echo Everywhere was the title track of one of the earlier ep's, this evocation of how Keeley feels haunted by Ingar, she can feel echoes of what her life might have been everywhere she goes. Gently drawing you into the world that might have been, but never had the chance to bloom.
The B-side opens with Forever's Where You Are as Keeley seeks immortality for Ingar Maria Hauser's memory, as she never got to live a full life and her killers have not served one day in prison for the crime they committed.
Never Here Always There is so wistful and imbued with sad regret, hoping no one else suffers a similar fate, combined with the burning fire Keeley feels for the need to resolve Northern Irelands most baffling unsolved murder.
You Never Made It That Far takes us along on that final journey where Ingar failed to reach her destination, accepting the lift in a car she should never have gotten in, being taken into the woods to meet the end that should never have been.
Totally Entranced is a slow elegy for how Ingar's story gripped Keeley and has not let go and won't until the killers are behind bars. Who did she speak to on the train, as Morgan Fisher adds flourishes on piano and organ.
The album closes with a cover of the Spiritualized classic Shine A Light that transposes the songs original intent, to make it Ingar Shining A Light down onto Keeley, to make her devoted to finding the truth and keeping Ingar's memory alive. This is a slow haunting version with strings and choral backing vocals, as the guitars do all sorts of blissed out magical things, making this a very cool lead into the short version of Ingar herself singing Both Sides Now accompanying herself on acoustic guitar that may well bring a tear to your eyes at the conclusion of this impressive album.
Find out more at https://thekeeleychronicles.wordpress.com/ https://keeleysound.bandcamp.com/album/floating-above-everything-else https://www.facebook.com/keeleysound
