Parting Marrows EP

For Parting Marrows the band incorporates a reduced line-up comprised of Joshua Bertram (guitar, bowed banjo, sounds/samples, sax, harmonium, synth, vocals), John Michael Foss (drums/percussion, piano) and Joe Akers (guest vocals on 2 tracks). The five tracks were recorded predominantly by Josh over the summer, in almost complete solitude due to the departure of close friends. Like ‘Make Amends…’, the record focuses once again on loss and loneliness, yet takes a different approach to its predecessor, this time trying to see the light and hope in loved ones returning and embracing the thought of reunion. You can hear ghosts and wraiths, chirping like birds hidden in a rich canopy, omnipresent yet unseen. The EP has more in common with ‘Tooth and Claw’, being less enigmatic than the dense drone-epics of ‘Make Amends…’. As Josh explains, “I wanted these songs to have more room to breath and the listener to be able to peak through the cracks here and there”.

New instrumental directions take place in the shape of saxophone, harmonium/organ and various junk-yard sounds. Josh devoured these new instruments, stumbling on fresh noises, searching freely as he wondered deep into uncharted sonic planes. Many exciting organic sounds where created through the inventive use of pumice stone, wind chimes and manipulated tape. Guest vocals are provided on ‘Augural Wraith’ and ‘Seminal Paws’ by Creepy Crawl’s Joe Akers, who brings a haunting tinge to the recording. Musical inspiration was derived from Josh’s love of African, Middle Eastern, Balkan and Javanese Gamelan music. This shines through, especially on ‘Warm Refines’, which stomps a twisted march to a wild tribal vocal, inducing compulsory toe-tapping and body-swaying.

The free-form junk-yard aesthetic, teamed with the camp-fire clap-along songs, (akin to the debut album ‘Tooth and Claw’), take a nod towards the output of Panda Bear, Múm, Paavoharju and Tape. Yet comparisons fall short as OBTN forge an idiosyncratic course that’s entirely their own. The shorter songs make way for an immediacy that sears itself to one’s memory upon first listen. The tracks swell and roll, collecting chimed momentum as they bubble with expressive lyrics that cackle with honest, pleading stories. The arrangements are tight, yet free to ramble, and there is an element of summer as the songs unfold like freshly blown dandelion seeds, finding their way to the nurturing soil of your eardrums.