More on: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Label: Atlantic
Release Date: 10/03/08
Rating:

After his critically acclaimed debut, Sam Duckworth returns under the moniker Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly to deliver his latest selection of songs from the heart, for the soul. Whatever you feel about music of this kind - 'harmonious and heartfelt' or 'weak and wet' - there's no denying that his debut, 'Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager', displayed a talented (if a little too responsible sounding) twenty-something one man band. Throw into the mix the fact that producer par-excellence Nitin Sawhney was called in to flick switches, twist EQs and level levels, and its no wonder people have been eagerly anticipating this release.

Yet listen to this disc once, and that uncanny flat feeling begins to take hold. It's not that it's bad, but that it is mediocre. The problem seems to be that self-help books are rarely much fun, so who thought that transferring these sentiments into music would work? Confused? Well that's because it's hard to define exactly what is wrong, but it's certainly not all right.

There is no denying that this album is an incredibly personal work, one which deals with important issues - a good thing it is to see artists taking an active interest in the real world. However, it feels as though perhaps an attempt to broaden the aural scope has led to a less concise - dare it be said - more generic sound. The LP is not without merit, with 'Postcards From Catalunya' coming close to his earlier works as a heart spilt all over your stereo, and 'Moving Forward' would not sound out of place as the soundtrack to a thoughtful train journey. But it's the musical edge from that first disc that would have him positioned in the Royal Albert Hall as comfortably as outside your local bus station which appears to have disappeared in haze of strings, guitars and over production. The shame is that most were perfectly happy with the stripped down, basic ethic of his debut.

The more upbeat numbers are where the disc stumbles like a sick horse in the National, with tracks such as 'Build You A Tower' sounding dangerously close to throwaway pop that the severity of their subject matter - the Middle East - is somehow lost in visions of supermarkets and elevators. The obvious attempt to combine folky rhythms, overly processed break beats and looped high-hats - none of which seem to have been created with the precision of acts such as The Postal Service - suggests too much has gone into this record.

It could be that he is the victim of his own success, or the ramblings of a pretentious pen, but it seems more than likely that this falls down simply because this could have, and should have been, a better product.

Martin Guttridge-Hewitt

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Official Site
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Myspace