It’s a facet of the human condition, but whilst we usually forget the moment the magic was lost as a child – seeing the presents hidden in a cupboard, the tooth fairy forgetting to leave money under your pillow – we more often remember it’s glow. For James Adrian Brown this means adventures to Blackpool Illuminations in the early nineties, visits filled with a kind of wonder that made him proudly tell his classmates later the the orbs of light stretched all the way along the country’s coastline.
Later he would become guitarist, principal songwriter and kinetic force behind Leeds post hardcore outfit Pulled Apart By Horses, but after four albums and a number of trips to A&E with gig sustained injuries he felt that particular part of his life had come with the pandemic to an unplanned but logical conclusion.
For the last five years he’s been producing music rooted in electronica and working on film soundtracks, but for his debut album there was only place he could base himself for inspiration. Walking along Blackpool’s Golden Mile every night grabbing field recordings, Forever Neon Lights is as a result a gauzy mixture of the contemporary synthesised ambience and more dreamlike sequences, in thrall as much to the work of Ulrich Schnauss as it is Daniel Avery. At it’s peak on Promenade and the Boards of Canada-esque Poster Child it’s a work that speaks to pasts both old and still within touching distance.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 