Michael Cashmore
The Snow Abides

The snow falls white outside the window of the attic; the armchair you're seated in is still comfortable, the only thing that seems to have remained untouched after the long passage of time. The photos have yellowed, memories have been shuffled in one's mind, often creating scenarios completely different from the objective truth of the events. At this point, who can say what really happened, given that everyone, after the passing years, has reworked their memories in their own way, emphasizing or forgetting events more or less significant, more or less painful?

Not even the photographs can testify to the complete truthfulness of our memories; they remain just timeless smiles, expressions of joy, melancholy, snippets of a past life that will never return. However, there is one thing that's certain—even after all the time that has passed since those events, even though those people, for one reason or another, are no longer in our lives—the certainty is that we cannot remain unaffected by the sight of those snapshots. The old affections, the old grudges, the anger, and the love emerge from the dust, and at this point, what matters more, the absolute truth of the facts, or the emotions gifted to us by seeing those faces again, by reliving those moments?

This is the image that this CD brings to my mind: an attic, a hot chocolate, a blanket to keep warm, and many photos, many emotions, love, joy, pain, often so intertwined that it's no longer possible to separate and distinctly recognize them.

The 2006 gift us this EP, it's short in length, true (twenty-two minutes), but I think it's worth reviewing, it's worth talking about.

Of course, perhaps it would have been enough for me to say that "The Snow Abides" is composed and produced by Michael Cashmore, played by excellent musicians, sung by Antony Hegarty, and with lyrics written by David Tibet, an artist of indisputable genius, the mind behind one of the most famous and important groups in the music scene over the last thirty years, Current 93, a group in which Cashmore himself has played for many years.

The EP consists of five songs, five small gems of pure chamber music. In this release, Cashmore puts aside his guitar and turns to the piano, supported by strings and woodwinds to build an atmosphere laden with pathos, epic, transcendental, and melancholic, as in the first instrumental track "My Eyes Open." The second track is the title track where Antony's magnificent voice makes its appearance—velvety, sweet, melancholic—with oboes and cello in the background creating a soft but painful atmosphere; time seems almost to stop, just like for those people imprinted on glossy photo paper.

The rest of the work continues on this path and concludes with an instrumental track, also muted, also sad in its infinite melancholy, yet you can glimpse light, as in many parts of this, believe me, endless EP.

I believe it's time to sum up this work, in which I see no major faults, as mentioned, no moments of decline—just many emotions. Sure, I won't give it five stars because it's "just" an EP and not a full album; moreover, it's not a disc I would recommend to everyone. Many might find it boring, too sad, perhaps something they’ve already heard before, but such feelings are inherent in the very nature of the offering. Therefore, I recommend it to all people seeking moments of reflection, to people who enjoy being alone to bask in their memories, their fantasies.

Believe me, this little gem is definitely for you. Happy holidays to all.