Mystery Spring - This House Is On Fire

 

TOR086. 

01 Manuela

02 Ghost Ship

03 Rainmaker

04 Wish You Well

05 Cold Country

06 Black Dog Heal

07 Unbroken Light

08 Kiss For Kiss

Marc Gillen - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Piano, Melodica,

Drum Machine and Field Recordings.

Catherine Reding - Vocals, Violin, Bass and Keyboards.

Alastair Popple - Mixing and Additional Production.

All songs written by Marc Gillen.

Mixed and mastered at The Kitchen Sync by Alastair Popple.

Recorded at home May 2021 to April 2022.

Artwork by Stephen Benson, back cover photograph by Marc Gillen.

Extremely limited CD and free download available from Bandcamp.

Mystery Spring - Forever Is Too Long

TOR068. 2019.

01 Currents
02 Pale Blue
03 Brian
04 Everybody is a Stranger These Days

The next release from Treehouse Orchestra Recordings:

"Over the last year or so I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad. More so than normal, I’m not really sure why. Brian (as my mum and others called him) or dad as I called him, passed away after a long illness in 2004. 

It feels a very long time since we were together, and my memories of those times grow fainter and seem less reliable with every passing year. I feel like he’s a ghost now, and I’m just left with a strong sense of love and gratitude for the way he brought me up and the opportunity’s he gave me. We were always very close, and would spend a lot of time together chatting, reading the papers, arguing and laughing. He was kind, good company, very funny, a bit of a show off and had a strong moral compass. 

I thought I would try to write a song for my dad, and a song for me. ‘Brian’ the third track on this EP is that song. I wanted it to evoke the mystery of people you love disappearing but never leaving you. How the pictures in your head are jumbled and sometimes eerie, but the broad feeling of love remains.

 The four verses of the song were cut down from 12 verses, each one representing a memory of time me and my dad spent together. I realised as i wrote these verses that I am not always a reliable narrator of my own history!! The four verses left in the song are the ones i can remember best and that’s why I left them in. 

All the songs on this EP are love songs of a sort, love either for people who are close, those who have gone, or those who are distant. 

Huge thanks to all involved in this EP, we couldn’t do it without you." - Marc.

Mystery Spring - Meet Me At The Weather Station

Treehouse Orchestra Recordings 2018

01 Meet me at the Weather Station
02 Relative Comfort
03 Cinematographer
04 Bedsit Disco Queen
05 The Reformist
06 Mind the Chaos

Newest and final release of 2018 from Treehouse Orchestra Recordings.

Mystery Spring is Marc (Brocken Spectre, Nightowl Sings) and Catherine (Shipcote and Friends). Their second release sees late night dark folk with psychedelic electronic croon.

Here's a review by David Thompson from our blog Treehouse Orchestra Recordings.

"Following on from last summer’s splendid debut album from Mystery Spring, Marc and Catherine present a 6-track EP that’s a total delight from start to finish and that, at a shorter length, perhaps holds together in a more satisfying and organic way than its predecessor.

Maybe it’s just the time of the year, but a couple of tracks here feel quite Christmassy to me, while the whole record radiates a warmth - like a mug of hot chocolate or a nip of the strong stuff - that is just right for the dark nights and the chill that’s beginning to take up residence in the air.

That’s not to give the impression of cosiness or to suggest that this isn’t a collection for all seasons. To the contrary, the songs here are all very strong and evocative and, at just shy of a 20 minute running time, it’s a record that’s just right for a listen at one sitting all year round.

The title track and opener gets the EP off to a low-key beginning. It’s an intimate and atmospheric number, with a whispered lead vocal from Marc, suggesting secrets being shared and giving the whole track a feeling of gentle mystery.

“Relative Comfort” is folky pop with Catherine’s lovely voice up front. It’s an infectious sing-along number, like something that might have popped up on Cherry Red Records in the mid-80s, but essentially it’s a classic Marc love song about a couple who are head over heels and out in the open air – perhaps hiding from everyone who can’t understand how they feel and might just get in the way (or break the spell).

“Cinematographer” is evocative of early ‘80s post-punk from its very title to the woozy Farsifa feel and cryptic lyrics while “Bedsit Disco Queen” is a lovely piano-led ballad with more than a touch of “Another Green World” Eno. The latter was recorded in one take and has a title borrowed from the memoir by Tracey Thorn (another Cherry Red artiste - the clues are building up, but maybe they’ll lead us nowhere in the end).

“You’re no reformist and I doubt I can be reformed”. And so “The Reformist” spins another esoteric yarn amid a reflective countryish piece with keening violins and crisp acoustic guitar, courtesy of Ste Benson (who also does the honours on “Relative Comfort” and is the only performer on the record other than Marc and Catherine).

Closing track “Mind the Chaos” is, despite the title, not really chaotic at all, but rather gently off-kilter and subtly disconcerting, while never being less than  perky and charming. It has an almost classical feel to the instrumentation (with a touch of the fairground) and the spirit of Jeffrey Lewis (and also perhaps Syd Barrett) lurking somewhere in the background. It is a song that sounds as if it’s being made up as it goes along, looking for either resolution or blissful oblivion, while not forgetting to ask important questions such as “where can I get free shoes” and “which colour will you choose”?

“Meet Me At The Weather Station” is a delightful concoction – a beguiling blend of voices, acoustic instruments and understated electronica (superbly mixed by Mr A Popple) -  that never outstays its welcome.  In fact, I would very surprised if you didn’t want to play it again as soon as it finishes – I’ve listened to it at least 5 times while I’ve been writing this review and I’m still ready for more. After all, doesn’t everyone need free shoes?"

Extremely limited compact disc and free download available from our Bandcamp.

MYSTERY SPRING - THE GIRL WHO HID BEHIND TREES

Treehouse Orchestra Recordings. 2017.


01. Nightwalking
02. Can't Put This Fire Out
03. Angel Face You Will Drive Us All To Hell
04. Saint Mary Kills Me
05. Split the Blues
06. What to Do Today
07. Open Water
08. Stone Pickers
09. Slow Moving Cartwheels
10. Last Rites, Maybe


Another release now from the label of me and my friends; Treehouse Orchestra Recordings.

I worked on the artwork for this one.

Here's the notes from the label blog, written by Catherine Reding:


"Me and my dog, Billy (that's him on the CD artwork) looked forward to Fridays last winter. We would go round to Marc's and drink tea, eat biscuits and play music together. What started out as a bit of a jam has turned into this album.

We had a great time making it - despite occasional dog noises and technical problems with Marc's recording kit.

It was quite a spontaneous process and although the album took a few months, most of the recording happened quite quickly.

A highlight for me was playing Marc's Ultranova keyboard on 'Nightwalking' - there was a childlike joy in twiddling the knobs and feeling like you are playing the BBC Radiophonic workshop.

This is our first Mystery Spring album, but we hope there will be more."

After the experimental folk alt. pop first tracks, the album settles into a mellow and dark pastoral vibe. Nice and half remembered woodsy feel.

Limited edition compact disc and free download at Bandcamp.