One of the interesting things about a solo project is that you often get to witness a musician pushing into more curious, experimental realms in order to effuse their grandest ideas. There is greater risk and less compromise. There is less expectation too. And so the shackles come off.
Not that you could ever accuse Henge, the band Mathew C Whitaker has now fronted for four glorious studio albums, of being shackled. Under Matthew’s sci-fi tutelage, the cosmic-prog four-piece from Manchester have spun a wild web of mind-boggling, inter-galactic, freeform electro-psych.
And there are traces of the Henge-branded cosmonaut on Matthew’s second solo album Songs For The Weary – the follow-up to 2016’s Man With The Anvil Hat – but they are enshrined in a deep humanity.
The new songs are flashed with lush, sweeping strings and delicate acoustic pickings, cresting a wave of serenity. There’s a genteel, traditional, old-English-gentlemanly nature to much of it, most notably the jauntily-plucked frolic that is Chestnut Tree. Lucid Dreamer, too, carries a mystical folk charm. The whole album is deeply nostalgic in feel with light baroque touches, at times calling to mind Richard Hawley at his most introspective and personal.
In support of Songs For The Weary, Matthew has ventured out on a run of 13 dates, one of which is at The Golden Lion in Todmorden. It’s a fitting venue in so many ways – the vibrations of the surrounding landscape and the liberalism of its people make it a home from home for Matthew.
It’s no surprise, therefore, to see him so at ease – with his dog, Trish, asleep at his feet as the set slowly begins. It’s not long before Trish trudges off, into the front row and out of the room, not to be seen again – until the final song of the set that is, during which she lovingly lopes back in, settles down by Matthew’s chair and happily curls up. And, of course, no-one bats an eyelid. Song for the weary, indeed.
So, for Trish’s benefit at least, we can reveal that six of the eight tracks off the new album make it onto tonight’s setlist. The beguiling Chestnut Tree sets the tone early on. Like many Henge songs, it has an otherworldly quality, but this is very different altogether. Instead of the bedazzling, supernatural trip you get with Henge, this is intrinsically humanist. It is, in some ways, antiquated; of a bygone era. At times, it feels almost like 1950s middle England, so very green and reassuring with its mellow, crooner sentiment. We glimpse the cosmic modulations and realm-shifting trickeries but in subtle form, through heart-warming melodies and softened, vaguely flamenco-ish guitar trickles.
Matthew is accompanied, on bass and keys, by multi-instrumentalist and long-time friend Shunya, aka Alan Keary, who is also credited with much of the album’s rich production and refined arrangements. The two of them concoct an intricate array of noodlings and runs, bobbing between hippy-folk and troubadour styles. It is intimate and compelling.
Towards the end of the set, turning to the obligatory Henge covers, it’s surprising just how effortlessly those old songs work in this minimal set-up – Moon and, in particular, the crowd-pleasing Indigo Dust appear in new clothing here and gently shimmer in the spotlight.
It’s interesting to note that the album’s artwork is an oil painting, showing Whitaker as an old man. It’s perhaps symbiotic of the album’s graceful, mature nature. But, while Matthew’s solo guise is inevitably less flashy than his alter-ego, Zpor, he is no less gripping. An energy remains in the live show. We are drawn in by the off-kilter storytelling, comforted by the lavish instrumentation and left smiling all the same.
Follow Matthew and Henge on Instagram for gig announcements and news of future releases.
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