He who says nothing says everything. Trouble is, he can only whisper the meaningful beneath the banal banter of small talk. This album is beautiful. Take it out of its comfort zone and it becomes a Pinter play- saying a lot but not saying anything meaningful until you read between the lines, until you see the danger arising in the words. It is possible to listen to what is not being said. Lyrically, one has a sneaky suspicion that Regan agonised for days over the correct word in one line of a song. Such behaviour is not an obsession with perfection; it’s homage to poetry. The songs flow but they stick and become the musical equivalent of a stutter. The musical journey in this album is a long and winding road, a journey of discovery through exposure to difference. The End of History is, ironically, the beginning of something special that may just go down in history. It is truly a historical achievement. Bored with me being pretentious? I thought you might be. You see, I’m making a point. If you read too much into this record you could go on describing it forever. Better to just enjoy the album and recognise that is a masterstroke of musical engineering. So there you have it, successful as far as the critics are concerned and successful as far as the listener is concerned. Regan, you remind me of Seth Lakeman. Truly remarkable. Now, stop reading and start listening.
Rating 5/5
Release Date: 7th August 2006
Record Label: Bella Union
Words By Martin Drury
