Tadpoles

Description

What if the cure for the current torments of our ailing societies was a folk album like they don't make anymore, as fascinating as it is elegant? Two years after Waiting for The Piano To Fall, Nick Wheeldon returns with The Living Paintings to deliver a new chapter in his discography: Tadpoles. In this album, as radiant as it is moving, the collective energy of the band radiates through the compositions of the British songwriter, whose talent knows no bounds. Introspective and deeply humanistic, Nick Wheeldon combines melancholy and optimism here, between hope and nostalgia. After more than a year of discographical silence, it took the band no more than seven days to record these nine new tracks. Entirely recorded analog, enhanced with a brass section, giving pride of place to saxophone and violin as well as a good dose of improvisation, Tadpoles reflects its author: a breath of fresh air in an increasingly anxiety-inducing world, saturated with artifacts that toy with authenticity, here rediscovered. Having arrived in Paris a dozen years ago, he who for a long time roamed with his voice and guitar around Sheffield, never knew how to do things by halves. Prolific author of a handful of albums made with as many bands as the multiple facets that compose him (Os Noctàmbulos, 39th and The Nortons, The Necessary Separation), Nick Wheeldon unpacks his bags again along with what's on his sleeve: his heart. Here everything is alive, everything breathes, everything encourages contemplation: luminous harmonies, adventurous melodies, refined arrangements, raw emotions and spontaneity are at the center of this masterpiece, as sensitive as it is refined, carried by poetic lyrics with naturalistic and dreamlike imagery from someone who knows how to reconcile the forces of nature with unleashed elements and his most exalted feelings. It was in Lüe, a small town in the Landes region, that the live takes were recorded with Stephane Jach on violin, Sam Roux on piano, Luc Martin on bass, and Nico Brusq on drums. Not forgetting, of course, Paul Trigoulet, a faithful companion who can be found on guitar, trumpet, but also behind the controls of the Lillois Fausse Boutique studio for a dazzling mix from start to finish, a subtle blend of infinite clarity and rediscovered warmth. This dream team is also joined by Marc Mouches (saxophone), Michel Roux (mellophone), and especially Laurent Rigaut (saxophone and bass clarinet) with his free approach to his wandering instruments. From the dreamy pragmatism of “You Can’t Have It All” to the irresistible groove of “Summer Prey,” an entire sensitive world then slips into our ears to never leave. This album could therefore be the story of a tadpole that became a froggy for good, but that would be to misunderstand Nick Wheeldon, and we are delighted to once again savor such a powerful revelation of his exceptional talent.