Bearcraft is occasional Scritti Politti guitarist Dicky Moore and this is his debut solo outing.
His stated intention is to combine "spectral synths and electro beats with pagan, scientific, philosophical and English folk themes".
A bit of a tall order, this and not one he pulls off convincingly unless your idea of a folk band happens to be The Human League.
The opening track - Hero Man Gets To The Castle ("A homage to a typical plot used in many classic 80s computer games") introduces us to his soft vocals served up with just a hint of diamond geezer cockney (he's a Hackney lad).
The album was apparently conceived as two singles and eight album tracks. The debut single is Werewolf, the album's centrepiece, and I'm guessing the other is the title track.
From the deadpan humour of Werewolf - "I saw your photo on the internet/ The wicked web we weave is spun again" - this song does not set out to make your blood run cold. This is just as well, because in the video of the song Moore plays the part of the beast unleashed in a decidedly camp manner and the disco bass lines suggest dance floor gyrations rather than animalistic urges.
On other songs, space age references feature prominently. On Out On A Limb a problematic relationship is likened to being stuck in astral limbo and on Broadswords he sings of wanting a ticket to Venus. Both these are bright commercial tunes with cheesy synths, hand claps and Damon Alban style vocals to get us into the party spirit.
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The best track is a more down to earth love song called Coming Unstuck which is rife with bitter sweet reflections ("wanna feature in the race but I can't find the start") .
This album may be able to boast esoteric topics like transhumanism (the ability to upload oneself to a computer) , retro physics and barn owls but by the midway point the somewhat self conscious eccentricities start to wear a bit thin.
Moore probably had a lot of fun making this album but this take on 80s synth-pop just sounds long past its sell by date.
Bearcraft on MySpace
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