Peter Hammill
A Black Box

THE REVIEW

To quote Peter Hammill, art "is found in wide brushstrokes, in the grand-sized picture... but also in a grain of sand": there could not be more effective words to frame much of his stylistic career and in particular this album. "A Black Box" saw the light in 1980 and follows courageous and innovative works like "The Future Now" and "PH7", even though the long "suite" "Flight" was composed before "PH7". At the time, his career had taken an uncompromising direction, stubbornly moving increasingly further away from the music business.

It's an atmosphere of desolation that emanates from the grooves of this album: the expressive dryness of certain sound solutions brings "A Black Box" close to the contiguous New Wave sounds, although Hammill still maintains his own intelligible language. The album is divided into two parts: side A of the vinyl comprises seven short and concise tracks that were composed after the suite "Flight" to complete the album and give it more length: this does not mean, however, that they are mere fillers; on the contrary, in these sound sketches lie some of the best pages written by the English composer.

With the essential support of synth, drum-machine, and guitar, the first side opens aggressively with "Golden Promises". The following "Losing Faith in Words" is introduced by a desolate keyboard riff and the track manages to engage thanks also to Hammill’s typical aggressive voice, then gives way to "Jargon King", a recited piece dominated by the drum-machine and experimental synth effects, certainly one of the most atypical tracks in his repertoire. We are now immersed in a claustrophobic atmosphere, confirmed by "Fogwalking", where guest David Jackson makes an appearance with his sax punctuating what is one of the peaks of the album: a ghostly piece that takes us on an imaginary journey through a foggy landscape of the soul. After the brief "The Spirit", with "In Slow Time" Hammill offers us another unforgettable page filled with dark atmospheres characterized by the heavy use of synth. "The Wipe" is an experimental sound sketch that closes the first part of the album.

Side B is occupied by the long suite "Flight", certainly the highlight of the album, which begins with subdued notes of piano and acoustic guitar before unfolding into a varied sound mosaic alternating between quieter moments and the typical expressionist and dramatic deliriums to which VDGG had accustomed us: this is the first "suite" composed by solo Hammill after the dissolution of VDGG and thus has notable historical importance considering the musical quality of the offering.

Ultimately, an epochal album where one can discern Hammill's dual mode of artistic expression: the more intimate side expressed in brief sound sketches, particularly sparse and desolate here, contrasted with the one where he loves to express himself in long sonic brushstrokes, represented here by "Flight".