Pavey Ark – More Time, More Speed review

Pavey Ark are more of a thing than some people. They began as a solo project for Neil Thomas, who after a couple of false starts began riding the non-existent wave of East Yorkshire Americana, releasing Close Your Eyes And Think of Nothing in 2020 to a somewhat bemused public.

It’s follow up has been a very long time in the making for a number of reasons, not least of which being that over time the collective has been adding instruments and people who play them, the most recent of which has been a horn section. As if add an extra layer of charm to More Time, More Speed‘s story, the various players were summoned to a working farm to record it, pausing so Thomas says each day at four PM as the milking cows in the next room made too much racket.

An element of whimsy yes, but co-produced with The Bees’ Paul Butler, these subtle, sometimes joyful arrangements and the singer’s gentle voice brings with them a guile which with some generous listening investment delivers great reward. Echoing Zach Condon‘s globe trotting moods on opener Out of Time and Radiohead‘s No Surprises with The Go Slow, More Time More Speed peaks with the cautionary environmental tone of Epoch, like much of the rest here a blessing from Pavey Ark – and all who sail in her.

You can read a full review here.

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