Stranger Things
‘how long can I live this way?’
This, my fellow Schoolcraftians and connoisseurs of the finer things is the last line of the opening track on the 10th anniversary offering from our Gothmother Lindsay Schoolcraft. The title track ‘Worlds Away’ opens the show and it inspires the most delicate and diaphanous of sensations as it flows sweetly and serenely, and the chorus at 1.48 lifts even the most withered of souls. She is the consummate artist; perfecting her (School)craft, dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s until she is happy to share her work. On this record you will find something old, something new , something borrowed – sort of- and something erm… blue, once again her partner in crime is Rocky Gray, who helps to steer this ship to its correct destination. We return to ‘Martyr’ and re-work some of those glorious numbers with the harp and Lindsay’s quality voice taking centre stage. It is stripped back so we can appreciate the endeavour, we can savour raw talent without guitars and drums crashing around. This selection sees Lindsay cherry-pick from her body of work, getting re-acquainted with some old souls and re-imagining them at their most basic and understated.
The second of the new songs is ‘Dance On The Strings’ and it is a song that has been simmering for a long time but was always unfinished. This shows the nature of a true artist; sometimes ideas can surface but amount to nothing. The writer has to live with all these thoughts and feelings and breathe life into their creation and make it ready for the fans.
What I find with this record is that this time around, you get to understand the songs a lot more. There is a different setting and you see the work in a different light. It is a sparklingly effervescent outing, replete with bona fide good will and heady with emotion. You can feel your bottom lip quiver and your knees buckle throughout.
If you didn’t have anywhere to store your feelings and rest your weary bodies, well now you have this heart-shaped box, heaven sent and an angelic embodiment of all things pure, untouched and untarnished.
I can feel your collective sighs, the tremors running through your being from here.
Azra Pathan
Lindsay Schoolcraft -Worlds Away out 9th October via Cyber Proxy Records.