Stefano Guzzetti likes 4AD Records. Really likes 4AD Records. In fact, on Into The Northsea he’s done his best to capture the spirit of This Mortal Coil (the musical project of 4AD boss Ivo Watts-Russell) with a coterie of guest vocalists, almost all of whom were at one point recorded for the label. There’s no small amount of wish-fulfilment going on here, as you might imagine, but the result is pleasingly positive. There are several reasons for this, but principally, the key one is: Waves On Canvas might be inspired by the concept of TMC (guest vocalists interwoven with instrumental passages) but musically it doesn’t live in the shadow of Filigree & Shadow and the rest and therefore doesn’t have to be judged against it. The other rewarding aspect of Into The Northsea is that it’s a welcome return for several singers that have been keeping a low profile of late. And if it gets one a little misty-eyed for the old days of 4AD, that’s no bad thing either.
As the title suggests, there’s an oceanic theme throughout the album, waves that might be familiar from the Dead Can Dance sequence on TMC’s It’ll End In Tears, but more powerful, more present. There’s a sequence of some 60 brief tracks on the CD that consist of nothing but the sound of crashing waves, and all that’s lacking is the wind in your face and the salt on your tongue to complete the atmosphere. The album opens in a more stately manner, though, with the piano, strings and a little found sound combination on instrumental opener “Twenty Years” flowing into “Angel”, sung by Louise Rutkowski. As one of a handful of vocal tracks, it’s probably the most obvious song here, sounding just a little too familiar and predictable. It’s always good to hear Ms Rutkowski, though, and it’s an approachable way in to the record; just don’t expect to gain more from it on repeated listens.
From there, Into The Northsea takes a more interesting direction, alternating busy electronic passages with calmer, more spacious, songs. “Starfish” features Ian Masters of Pale Saints on vocals and shoegazey guitar blasts, and Pieter Nooten of Clan of Xymox provides the warm croon of “Frozen”; tracks which bookend a sequence of more densely layered pieces. It could sound like a series of clumsy transitions but thankfully it doesn’t. The overall impression is that of waves coming into shore, periods of stillness enlivened by moments of raw power.
It would be easy to play Waves On Canvas off as a vanity project by a man in love with 4AD from the 1980s, but this doesn’t feel like a self-indulgent record. Perhaps, aged 40, Guzzetti is looking back to his youth and remembering the times he pored over Vaughan Oliver’s covers and is now seeking to impart some of that feeling in his music. But musically, Into The Northsea is not trapped in any particular era; this is not a nostalgic work in that sense, and several of the tracks here feel timeless. It’s an album that will attract the attention of 4AD fanboys, but it should appeal to a much wider audience; an encounter with Waves On Canvas won’t end in tears. (Jeremy Bye)
a closer listen 