| Michael Cashmore: The Snow Abides |
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| Posted by Andrew Greenhalgh |
11:48 AM Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
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Your reaction to British composer and musician Michael Cashmore’s EP, The Snow Abides, will be greatly dependent upon what you enter in expecting. If you give Cashmore’s album a spin and anticipate a set of songs that are perfect for summertime cruising, convertible top down, and hair in your wind, you’ll be sorely disappointed. This is simply not what you’re looking for. Yet, if you’re in the mood for something a bit different and experimental, The Snow Abides might just fit the bill. Opening with a cinematic sounding piece entitled “My Eyes Open”, complete with a set of longing strings, Cashmore allows things to flow into the title track, “The Snow Abides”. Here, piano sets the tone and is accented by Hagerty’s wavering vibrato. The sound is unusual and perhaps initially unpleasant but something about the arrangement allows it to grow on the listener, drawing one into the story. Hagerty takes many liberties with his voice, some of which will throw a few listeners but Cashmore draws him back and lets his unusual croon swoon and sway over the chamber music of “How God Moved at Twilight”. “Your Eyes Close” follows in the same vein; it’s lovelorn tale fitting to the somber tones. The EP closes out with “Snow No Longer”, ending as it began with a melancholy instrumental track. The beauty here lies in the artistic collaboration that takes place between Cashmore’s moody instrumentation and Hagerty’s eclectic vocal range. Playing off of one another, the two have crafted out something that defies the usual glib statement of “good”. This music is far more complex and interesting than most and while it’s not for everyone, the open-minded music fan looking for something unique and compelling will find much to enjoy in Michael Cashmore’s The Snow Abides. |
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