Gentle songs of quiet reflection for staying grounded in hurried times.
Hot on the heels of last year’s critically acclaimed release, Divorce singer and guitarist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow returns with the eponymously titled debut album from his latest project, Book of Churches. Listeners expecting more of the eclectic, genre-blurring music of Divorce might be pleasantly surprised by the intimate nature of these new songs. The record is a stripped-down affair, recorded almost entirely solo with Mackenzie-Barrow’s hushed vocals and acoustic guitar anchoring the tracks. It plays as the polar opposite of Divorce; less frenetic energy and more contemplative, an album meant to be truly listened to without distractions.
Referring to the project as “incredibly DIY”, Mackenzie-Barrow notes that the approach to writing and recording for the album was the antithesis to the collaborative style he employs with Divorce. The self-produced album features ten breathtaking songs of emotionally-charged songwriting, sustained by some exquisite melodies and a warm, uncluttered sound courtesy of Richie Kennedy, who mixed the record. It is by no means a lo-fi production, but the intimacy of the performance is kept intact, almost as if the listener is in the same room as Mackenzie-Barrow. While the album is built around guitar and vocals, the songs are layered with subtle textures of atmospheric electric guitar, banjo, keyboards and multi-tracked vocals that add splashes of colour to the proceedings, without taking away from the immediacy of the music.
Song By A Stranger begins the album and is stunning in its quiet beauty. Over a gently strummed acoustic guitar and soft vocals, the song introduces some of the recurring themes that show up throughout the album: travel, relationships, and our connection to the natural environment. The imagery is brilliant, “But the light throws an arm on the back of the headrest / It looks like a consolation“, the delivery stunning.
The equally engaging All The Good Things embraces a more upbeat feel in the vocals and arrangement. Its lilting melody and uplifting chorus, with its slightly Celtic tone, contrasted by lyrics dealing with the end of a relationship. By the time There You Go I Love You arrives, it’s apparent you are hearing a songwriter at the top of his game. Opening with the sound of rain, the song features some of Mackenzie-Barrow’s most expressive singing, while some strategically placed electric guitar atmospherics add a sense of urgency to the track.
As the album progresses, the songwriting and performances never falter. Mackenzie-Barrow’s mastery of the concise style of writing is showcased throughout. This economy of words creates an additional emotional connection to the songs, and one can’t help but lean in and hang on every word. Standout track The Quiet Was A Heron is simply beguiling in both its content and delivery. The aptly titled song’s soothing melody, over finger-picked guitar and swirling keyboards, enriches the sentiments of the words being conveyed, a song reflecting on our connection to nature.
Throughout, the concise and sparse songs unfurl under Mackenzie-Barrow’s gentle vocals, supported by a collection of quiet, unassuming melodies that wrap themselves around the words like a warm embrace. The album concludes with the spare Stones In Your Bag, a sweet song that tenderly details the basic need for human connection and the quiet comfort derived from the unspoken, shared moments that constitute close relationships. Over a gently strummed acoustic guitar, Mackenzie-Barrow sings in an almost conversational manner, “Just me and you / In a hotel at the end of the world / And the books and the car / And the stones in your bag / We arrived in the dark“. The words capture a single moment of time with absolute lyrical precision.
Solo acoustic records can sometimes prove to be a tricky endeavour to pull off; the songs laid bare without any studio trickery to hide behind. With this release, Mackenzie-Barrow has proven that not only is he capable of producing more upbeat, ambitious numbers in a band setting, he can also deliver a deeply personal album of sublime beauty and warmth full of songs that, really, are best appreciated in this unadorned, intimate setting.
