Title

Label/Cat No.

Year

Length

Returning Jesus

3rd Stone Records  stone 038CD

2001

54.07

Together We're Stranger

Snapper/K-Scope smacd867

2003

47.11

Speak

Headphone Dust HDNMCD11

2004

51.14

Schoolyard Ghosts

Snapper/KScope Kscope103p

2008

53.00

RETURNING JESUS

Tracklist: Only Rain (7.24); No Defence (5.20); Close Your Eyes (8.25); Carolina Skeletons (5.08); Outside The Machine (5.46); Returning Jesus (5.19); Slow It All Down (3.42); Lighthouse (8.12); All That You Are (4.44).

No-Man are vocalist Tim Bowness and Steve Wilson, who provides the instrumentation - and most of the material on 'Returning Jesus', their fourth album, is written by the duo together. Guest musicians on the album include Steve Jansen (Rain Tree, Japan) on drums and Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) on bass and double bass - other instruments that are used include trumpets, saxaphone and flute.

The music on this album is generally slow paced and it is packed full of intense, heartfelt emotion ... a truly soulful work. The opening track, 'Only Rain', is a good example; the first half of the piece contains rich synth sounds, over which is laid the mellow voice of Bowness with his short vocal section. Then the number becomes more experimental and arty, with percussive sectors overlaid with trumpet solos and more synth parts - yet this more avant garde music still demands an emotional response.

'No Defence' is a lovely song with nice multi layered vocals over a rich hypnotic instrumental backdrop.  After the vocals some laid back trumpet features, playing through to the outro.

Percussive rhythms introduce 'Close Your Eyes' and are augmented by the shimmering keyboard sounds that lie behind the vocal track.  The instrumentation gently increases behind the voice, then takes over the second part of the piece with a meander through a lush, adventurous and mellifluous soundscape.

Wilson provides a perfect background to Bowness' velvet smooth voice on 'Carolina Skeletons' with his delicate and poignant instrumentation ... fabulous.

'Outside The Machine' has a much jazzier feel and Bowness' vocals appear ethereal against the harder edged rhythm section and stronger instrumentation.

A slow rhythm composed of bell-like tones opens and runs through 'Returning Jesus'. Spacey synths whir gently and are overlaid by wonderfully melodic swirling instrumentation, while the repeated vocal lines work as additional instrument rather than a feature of the piece.

'Slow It All Down' is an instrumental number written by Wilson and it takes its name from a line in the previous track.  It has a very intense feel with a harder edge than the rest of the album and ends with some 30 seconds of silence ....

'Lighthouse' has the luscious blend of Bowness' voice alongside Wilson's superb rich keyboard work. These are supplimented by sections of bold percussion and the strong instrumentation grows to a early crescendo - only to ease down into the subtle outro.

'All That You Are' is a Bowness composition. Many of the warm, but unelaborate, verses are supported by just simple guitar lines but occasionally the instrumentation builds creating a heavenly, rich sound ... a wonderful, spine tingling end to the album.

The music of 'Returning Jesus' really defies catagorisation - enough to say that the music is beautiful, warm and honest, and is played by a pair of extremly accomplished musicians.  For me, this is the best new album that I've heard this year so far ...

Marisa 8th April, 2001

TOGETHER WE'RE STRANGER

Track list: Together We're Stranger (8.31), All the Blue Changes (7.48), The City in a Hundred Ways (2.23), Things I Want to Tell You (9.04), Photographs in Black and White (10.03), Back When You Were Beautiful (5.07), The Break-up for Real (4.11).

'Together We're Stranger' is No-Man's fifth album; it follows 'Returning Jesus' (after a two year interval) and was released in April. The duo of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson is augmented by Ben Castle (clarinets and flute), David Picking (trumpet, electronics, percussion), Michael Bearpark (guitar), Stephen Bennett (noise, organ, cymbal), bassist Peter Chilvers and Roger Eno on harmonium, several of whom have previously worked with Bowness on other projects.

All of the tracks on 'Together We're Stranger' are jointly attributed to vocalist Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Wilson, although I feel that Wilson's influence is greater here than on the former album. Of the seven tracks, six are song based with only the shortest composition being an instrumental piece.

As usual, Bowness's voice is spine-tingling - breathy, ethereal and subtle - and his simply presented vocals belie the bitter and emotional lyrical content (the words are nicely set out in the fold out sleeve). Sections of multi-layered harmonised vocals, which are simply to die for, appear on a couple of tracks - 'All the Blue Changes' and 'The Break-up for Real' – providing further depth and contrast.

The instrumentation on the album is intermittently structured and is performed with a light touch that perfectly supports the vocals. The music ranges from simple acoustic guitar work, hypnotic and/or rhythmic sectors through to floaty, space-rock ambient parts – all with an innovative prog-fusion feel that combines the various sounds into a chilled out vibe that is easy on the ears, yet stimulates the mind.

'Together We're Stranger' is a beautifully put together album with an atmosphere that is warm, relaxing and uplifting. But this is not background music; it demands the listener's attention with its muted and understated instrumentation which is ingeniously threaded through with glimmering highlights, gently underpinning the vocals and displaying new attributes with every listen.

This is a superb, esoteric album that will be appreciated by the discerning and sophisticated music lover and comes highly recommended.

Marisa 30th August, 2003

SPEAK

Tracklist: Speak (1:24);  Pink Moon (3:03); Iris Murdoch Cut Me
Down (4:33); Curtain Dream (3:01);  Heaven's Break (3:22);  French Tree Terror Suspect (2:59);  River Song (2:01);  Riverrun (4:44);
The Ballet Beast (1:27); Night Sky Sweet Earth (6:37);  Life With Picasso (3:26);  Death and Dodgson's Dreamchild (2:19);  The Hidden Art Of Man Ray (11:42)

Recorded back in 1988/89 and originally released as a home made cassette tape, this is I believe the first collaboration between Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness along with other original member Ben Coleman on violin. Now remastered and partially re recorded for this release on SW's own Headphone Dust label, 'Speak' is a absolute gem. Despite it's origins of being recorded on a faulty 8 track reel to reel with limited instruments and technology available, the sound quality of this album is first class and the songs are nothing short of immaculate.

The short instrumental title track pretty much sets the scene for the album with it's haunting violin and twinkling keyboards and as Tim's emotionally drenched vocals join in on 'Pink Moon' you just know that this is going to be a stunning album. The slumbering atmospheres continue on such gorgeous pieces as 'Heaven's Break', 'River Song' and the entrancing instrumentals 'French Tree Terror Suspect' and 'The Ballet Beast'. Meanwhile the group move into a more avant garde but no less melodic area with 'Death And Dodgson's Dreamchild' and the album closes with the long hypnotic ambient piece 'The Hidden Art Of Man Ray' which leaves the listener in a deeply relaxed and meditative state.

'Speak' has a beautiful cohesive feel both song wise and sonically that belies it's 'home made' origins and if you're looking for some relaxing chill out music then look no further. For fans of the the recent NM albums such as 'Returning Jesus' and 'Together We're Stranger' this album is an essential purchase. Also recommended for newer Porcupine Tree fans who might want to explore the lighter side of SW's eclectic talents.

Steve  31st July 2005

SCHOOLYARD GHOSTS

Tracklist:
All Sweet Things (6.47); Beautiful Songs You Should Know (4.24);  Pigeon Drummer (6.17); Truenorth (12.48); Wherever There Is
Light (4.23);  Song Of The Surf (6.11);  Streaming (3.32);
Mixtaped (8.38)

LINEUP
Tim Bowness - Vocals
Steve Wilson - Instruments

Guest Musicians:
Peter Chilvers – samples from 'surfacing' (1)
Colin Edwin – fretless acoustic bass (2)
Rick Edwards – percussion (2)
Marianne De Chastelaine – cello (2)
Pat Mastelotto – drums, percussion (3 & 6)
Theo Travis – flute, soprano sax (part 2) (4, 5 & 8)
Fabrice Lefebvre – yang t'chin (part 1) (4)
Andy Booker – electronic percussion (part 3) (4) drum loop (7)
Strings arranged by Dave Stewart and performed by the London Session Orchestra (4)
Bruce Kaphan – pedal steel guitar (5 & 7), ebow (7)
Pete Morgan – bass (7)
Gavin Harrison - drums (8)

REVIEW

It's been five years since No-Man released their last album, "Together We're Stranger", and I'm delighted to say that during their absence they have lost none of the magic that sparkles through their work.

'Schoolyard Ghosts' shows the duo on top form once again as they deliver 8 tracks of scintillating, moody, atmospheric music providing the listener with a very satisfying yet at the same time intense experience. I have to be totally honest here and say that if  I'm not in the right frame of mind at the outset, this album can also be an incredibly difficult one to get to grips with, mainly due to the sheer emotion that comes pouring from the music and the vocals.  That said, approach it in the right spirit and the result is extremely rewarding.

As ever the sound is very stark, there is nothing superfluous or out of place anywhere to be found.  Every note and word seems to be placed with a sense of deliberation that make for a smooth and effortless flow of ideas and emotion from start to finish.

There is a brutal honesty to 'All Sweet Things' that make this number really stand out. The subtle vocal melody is quite beautiful both in tone and lyrical content, but at the same time it induces a quality of sadness that can be quite overwhelming.  The vocals in turn are set against a relaxed backdrop consisting mainly of piano and acoustic guitar, but with other keyboard effects also utilised to good effect, which give the track a haunting quality that you can really loose yourself in. Marvellous!

Less intense but equally atmospheric is the following track titled 'Beautiful Song's You Should Know' with it's soft beat and ambient moods.

'Pigeon Drummer' is a more wayward piece with the first half of the track alternating between slightly distorted vocal passages interspersed by hard hitting punchy percussive sections.  The latter part of the track is far more ambient and has a dreamy surreal quality where the vocals now take on a more hazy quality which contrasts well with the preceding half.

Next we come to 'Truenorth' which, being the longest track featured, manages to explore a more varied range of sounds.  The vocals are once again back to the smooth delivery that is surely the hallmark of Tim Bowness' style, but the instrumentation is really something else. The sting arrangements here are truly breathtaking, and some of the flute work from Theo Travis just adds the perfect finishing touch to an already fine number.

'Wherever There is Light' is perhaps my favourite track on the album.  The song has a slow but gradual build up as it progresses, and the music while calm and peaceful has a strange intensity that carries the listener along and leaves one with a remarkable feeling of well being.

'Song of the Surf' and 'Streaming' continue in much the same spirit, although the latter track stands out a little more in part due to it's more obvious use of drums.

The final track on the album is 'Mixtaped', a nice enough track but for my money a touch too long with perhaps too little development, making it not a particularly strong choice as a closing number in my view.

While this album is not without it's faults, it nevertheless marks a very strong return for No-Man, and a welcome one at that. 

If you have enjoyed any of No-Mans previous work, then this alum is a must have addition to your collection.  For those unfamiliar with the band, perhaps some effort will be needed to really get the most from this album, but believe me, it's worth it!

Simon - May 2008