Frank
Baker is a name I certainly wasn’t familiar with when Noctilucent, his first album under his own name, landed on my desk
for review .He has produced music under various names as side projects such as
Meadowy Temple, Landcold and Ociraa. Frank is a solo artist and record producer
from Southern Germany and he describes his involvement in music more as a
“sound architect” building audio-visual landscapes rather than
“singer-orientated” songs. He places his material loosely into the prog rock
area, but with heavy influences from cinematic areas and ambient sound. It
certainly sounds like an interesting background to the production of the album, Noctilucent, and I was keen to hear
what was on offer.
Frank is a
multi-instrumentalist, covering vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, piano,
percussion and drum programming on the album.
Noctilucent is
a 10 track album with a total playing time of around 41 minutes, with the
closing track, “The Avalanche Pt 1,” being the shortest at 1:10 minutes and
track 4, “The Court of the Hunter,” the longest at 6:44 minutes.
An aptly named opening
track, simply called “Opening” (1:38), starts Noctilucent and certainly fits into the more ambient area and leads
directly into track 2, “Fingerprints” (5:40). “Opening” has a beautiful piano
passage with some extraneous background noises which builds up with the
keyboards, before a “harsh” drum takes the track out and into “Fingerprints.”
This has superb acoustic guitar work, painting a soundscape, which is then
superseded by guitar, bass, drums and a very breathy stylized vocal. There is
even a beatlesque hint with some of the vocals. The music is excellent, very
cinematic in its build-up and these two opening tracks certainly maintain the
interest of the listener with some time changes and some intriguing percussion
breaks.
“Scared Little Birman”
(3:45), “Noctilucent Clouds” (3:56) and “A Lull In The Wind” (3:30) share the
more acoustic gentle style of the initial part of track 2 and give a little nod
at times to the sound of early Pink
Floyd. This is an excellent trio of similar styled tracks, letting the listener
float along on their melodic nature.
The other tracks, “The Court
of The Hunter” (6:42), “Paleness” (5:23), “Into the Snow” (5:25), “Colored
Mountain Ranges” (4:48) and “The Avalanche Pt 1” (1:11) share the more complex
and slightly heavier side of the music. “The Court Of The Hunter,” in
particular, sets out a stunning soundscape which “doffs its cap” in the
direction of Porcupine Tree, as does “Into the Snow.” ”Colored Mountain Ranges”
has some swirling keyboards and a beautifully played guitar melody, while “The
Avalanche Pt 1,” which takes the album out, is a very interesting track, even
in its brevity and I was left wondering why this track was so short, but
perhaps it will be continued at the start of album 2?
All in all, Noctilucent is a very intriguing debut solo
release, with some amazing work on show. While the album doesn’t quite get both
album stickers, it definitely gets the “One to Buy” sticker. If you wrap your
ears around this album for several plays, you will realize that Frank Baker has
produced an album that hits very close to a bull’s-eye and we should all be on
the alert for the follow up release, when it ultimately appears.
4.5/5 Stars
Key
Tracks: Opening/Fingerprints: The Court of the Hunter: Noctilucent Clouds
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