An Angel Fell Where
the Kestrels Hover was designed by Peter Wright as a
response to the seasonal cycle - part of the same inspiration as
his Snow Blind, which explored his emotional reactions to a
London winter. Allegedly, this album eschews its predecessor's doom
and gloom in favour of a more resplendent outlook, something evident
as early on as the first track, which meshes a glimmering electronic
tone with a balmy guitar strum. Still, Wright's medium is drone, and
as a result, much of this album moves at a glacial pace. "London is
Drowning ..." makes that sentiment clear, as it gradually flows
onwards, suffusing a deep, regal ambiance with impossibly echoing
wind-chimes of electric guitar. It is at once haunting and
enrapturing - a sensitive ode to wistful Spring nights. Its ominous
darkness might also bear the imprint of what Wright describes as one
of London's "wettest Julys on record," something which explains the
record's many morose moments.
Perhaps An Angel
Fell's most literal summer relic is the magnificent "Lavender
Buzz," whose foreground is a field recording obtained via a
microphone placed in the middle of a flowerbed, populated largely by
the buzzing of bees gathering nectar. It's an indisputable artefact
of summer, yet Wright's minimal guitar accompaniment, along with the
almost hazardous sounds of insects abuzz, makes for a sense of
longing foreign to more typical dog-day efforts. This latent
sadness pervades much of the album as a whole, concluding with the
almost cacophonous guitar-drone of "Kestrels," which merges sorrow
with a unique, indefinable hopefulness amid tidal guitar flows. It's
a suitable end to a powerful, emotionally conflicted album.