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Album Review

Darren Hayman
The Ship's Piano Fortuna Pop

Article written by Paul M - Oct 6, 2011

The Ship's Piano

Darren Hayman may not be challenging Adele for the most sales in 2011 but he certainly hasn’t let a comparative lack of mass appeal stop him from continuing to make ever more music, both old and new, available. Always a productive chap, even he has stepped up a gear in 2011. So far he has delivered a tune a day for a month (January Songs, available via Bandcamp), a collection of outtakes and demos from last year’s Essex Arms (The Green and the Grey), a double CD re-release of the final Hefner album (Dead Media) and a collaboration with others that celebrates space travel (Vostok 5). Well if there’s any chalk left after marking up that little lot, you’ll soon be close to scratching the board with your fingernails as he’s notched up one more. The Ship’s Piano is the product of sessions that followed a violent attack in Nottingham in 2009 which resulted in a fractured skull. Still suffering from a partial deafness which left him in severe discomfort in noisy environments, but seeking a sonic route to recovery, Hayman decided to record, turning the amps off and restricting the accompaniment to just strings, keys and a subdued trumpet. The outcome is a selection of gentle ballads that while musically simple, deliver highly as always courtesy of the clever lyrics. Few can match Hayman’s ability to capture the tingle or awkwardness of new relationships or the sad breakdown of old ones but here he also speculates as to the history of the very piano used for the sessions (an old upright French one, similar to those found on ships) with equally charming results. Once again, the old English romantic has nailed it.

Links:
http://www.hefnet.com