CITY OF SONG – CRLP 026

Everybody needs a side hustle. Especially in a time of lost time. There’s a lot that’s happened these past three years, and some songs that might ordinarily have found a place in the mainstream were left floating, in expectation of a project to gather them up.

City of Song, by The Battered Case, is that project. Ten new recordings, ten songs stretching back beyond lockdown. And that’s the last time we’ll have anything to say about that.

All the songs are by Mark Gamon – with a little extra inspiration from David Hardie – and all were made effortlessly beautiful by Matt Kelly’s glorious strings. Matt threw in a banjo moment, Ali Cossor lent her lovely harmonies throughout, and David Cammish and Rhys Wilson, both of Thursday’s Band, contributed expert cameos. Everything was recorded at leisure in Mark’s converted garage or Matt’s attic. That’s the culture in the Case, and it appears to work.

Four tracks celebrate New York, one celebrates new life. One unpicks a memory, one a mystery. The rest are just about how to survive.

Songs are like that. It’s why we like them.