BRIAN BILSTON AND THE CATENARY WIRES - Sounds Made By Humans - LP - Green Vinyl [MAY 9]

LP - Limited Edition Green Vinyl (First Pressing of 900 Only). Britain’s Favourite Poet Collaborates With Indie Icons To Create Literate Pop Album. 

The Catenary Wires are a group comprising Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button. Their critically acclaimed third album ‘Birling Gap’ was released in 2021. Since then, they have been focusing on their other bands, playing around the world with Heavenly (stars of the 90s indiepop scene) and Swansea Sound. 

A couple of years ago, word reached Rob and Amelia that Brian had been spotted wearing a Heavenly t-shirt at one of his shows, and was a big fan of their music. Given that they, in turn, were fans of Brian’s poetry, introductions were made, friendships were formed, and ‘Sounds Made By Humans’ took shape. 

The album isn’t a set of readings with musical backdrops: it’s a collection of songs, where words and music have become completely intertwined. There are verses, and there are choruses. There is no ‘riffing’, no improvisation. In many ways, Brian’s poems are already like pop songs: brief, direct, and witty; sometimes poignant, sometimes biting and political; but always economical, and always accessible.   

Rob took thirteen of Brian’s poems and created melodies and arrangements, which are then played by a full band, with Ian Button on drums and Fay Hallam on keyboard. Sometimes the words of the poems are sung by Amelia or Rob. Sometimes they are spoken by Brian.  Sometimes both these things happen at once. This is a pop record where the poetry and the music are equal partners: sounds made by humans in perfect artistic alignment. 

Tracklist: 

1. Alexa, What Is There To Know About Love?
2. The Interview
3. Every Song On The Radio Reminds Me Of You
4. Might Have, Might Not Have
5. To Do List
6. Compilation Cassette
7. Out Of The Rain
8. 31 Rules For Midliefe Rebellion
9. As I Grow Old I Will March Not Shuffle
10. She’d Dance
11. My Heart Is A Lump Of Rock
12. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulting
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(Track 13 is Exclusive To LP And CD)