Album Review: Jules Maxwell, Songs From The Cultural Backwater

Songs From The Cultural Backwater is the provocatively-titled debut album from Dead Can Dance keyboard pilot Jules Maxwell. It was recorded over five years in France and London, yet it’s magically redolent of the atmosphere of Belfast.

At various points through the 12 evocative and highly personal tunes, you feel the sounds are so sumptuous that you ought to stop listening, and simply luxuriate in them. That feeling creeps up on you from the first track ‘Blowtorch’, deliciously underdone a la Jimmy Webb, which utilises just piano, guitar and Maxwell’s fragile voice. It lays down a powerful marker. Some might quibble with the over-reliance on the piano/vocal approach, but this is a record that rewards repeated plays. ‘Lorine’ showcases Maxwell’s voice at its most vulnerable, while ‘No Place That Rains (Quite Like Home)’ – a co-write with Tristan Bernays – is a gut-wrenching portrayal of Irish emigration.

Ian Stephens’ strings beautifully offset Maxwell’s warm vocals on ‘Some Mistakes’. There’s a good-time gospel feel to ‘Good Ghost’, with its upbeat brass adding a welcome touch of Van Morrison and Ry Cooder. Louise Wallace’s delicate acapella vocal, meanwhile, proves spellbinding on ‘Last Train To Limerick’, a rueful reflection on a relationship that’s well over. Elsewhere, the bluesy ‘Give Up The Band’ – written with Foy Vance – uses the story of a young boy in a brass band to explore Belfast in more troubled times.

Songs From The Cultural Backwater is a very fine record indeed.

7/10

Out now.