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| 1 | I Cannot Fall Asleep | | 2:31 | | 2 | I'll Never Choose a New Part | | 2:30 | | 3 | Catherine, the Sky Is Bright | | 6:06 | | 4 | Statue in the Sand | | 3:02 | | 5 | Gypsy Bones | | 7:06 | | 6 | Shine | | 5:05 | | 7 | Ballad of Kevvy and Jenny | | 5:11 | | 8 | The Unseen Hook | | 2:20 | | 9 | Makri | | 3:19 |
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| 2008 |
A Twitch Upon the Thread
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warpig01
 Great
CD-R
[Rating19632068]
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A Twitch Upon The Thread is yet another great album from Pickering Pick. A new Pickering Pick release being presented for download on this website is always something to look forward to, but I have to admit I was a little less excited about this one as The Pacific Ocean and Lost Transmissions didn't quite grab me as much as his earlier works, but after a few listens to A Twitch Upon The Thread I was completely hooked. The songs here are all stripped-back and acoustic, which for me is a definitely a good thing as I think it was the more layered arrangements that I wasn't too fond of on the last couple of albums, and every song here is excellent. "Statue In The Sand" and "The Ballad Of Kevvy And Jenny" in particular stand out, but there isn't a single weak moment here. Overall I believe A Twitch Upon The Thread is one of Pickering Pick's most consistent albums to date, and quite possibly his best. |
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TheMusicalVito
CD
[Rating15583084]
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There isn't a day that goes by now when this album doesn't cross my mind.
I think that if Sam Pickering Pick was to have only one thing on his mind whilst creating this record, it would be to inspire. To unconditionally inspire anybody who happens to hear this music, and to influence him or her in ways that even the greatest of musicians have failed to thoroughly do. You see, I knew there was something special about this album when I stumbled across it on this glorious site. They say that you get what you pay for in most cases like this, but I paid zilch for this album and I got one hell of an experience. You know, I got more than just an experience. I got something that can never, ever be taken away from me: inspiration. Complete, one-hundred percent inspiration.
Pickering Pick...what is there to say about this man that isn't clear as soon as you hear him? I'd say that the first thing that hit me about him was his down-to-Earth voice. I don't think a man has ever sounded more honest in his music than Sam does here. I may be young, and my impression of folk may still be hazy, but I knew that as soon as the first number ended, I was going for one hell of a ride. Since my initial first listen of this record, it must have gotten well over ten plays. Hell, it's probably like fifteen by now. I love it so much that I take it on the road with me...sometimes on my player, sometimes in my head. One day not even a month ago, I let the opening words of "Catherine, The Sky is Bright" come from my mouth, again and again and again as I walked down the main road to meet my friend. I didn't care about how I looked or heard to oncoming traffic; I just kept at it again and again. It's really something when a song can have that sincere of an impact on you that you don't even care who sees or hears you trying to impersonate it. I take it that nobody had the faintest idea as to what I was doing as I walked down that road, and I doubt that anyone even cared, but the key thing was that I didn't care. I let that song become a part of a sincere memory for me, and I didn't even get to hear it through Sam's voice at the time! What sort of music can touch you even when you are away from it? This, right here.
Scanning the songs on here again and again, I find that there are certain songs that are obligatory sing-along material. I always key in on the part in "Gypsy Bones" where Sam sings softly that "Sally sleeps on the sofa bed." There's a certain charm to that line that just gets me. You know, for once, I actually want to know something about a character in folk music. Even the greatest folk master there is, Bob Dylan, can have trouble captivating me with his characters (unless they are first-person). The Pick has successfully put himself over Bob Dylan in the character development department for me. Sally, Catherine, Jenny, Kevvy...
There's another one that touches me: "The Ballad of Kevvy and Jenny". If it wasn't enough that this song is a true beaut to enjoy, it thrills me to know that Sam wrote this song for another user on this site. Wow, that's really something. I can't imagine what it's like to have a song written about you. I mean, the closest thing I've ever personally gotten to is "Vito's Ordination Song" by Sufjan Stevens, and that wasn't even about me. I can only imagine Kevvy's first glimpse of enthusiasm when he heard that song for the first time. I can only imagine how Kevvy feels when he sits there, listening to his song, thinking, "This Exists Because of Me." It must be an amazing feeling, and the emotion that Sam conveyed in this song just cries out such tender, loving emotion. I feel like I'm in a movie, watching Kevvy sitting at a bar with a toasty, alcoholic beverage, and Jenny walks in for the first time. Whether or not that's how it happened, I don't know. But to tell you the truth, I don't want to know. It would take away from the mystique of what's in my head. Quite frankly, Sam's amazing sense of visualizaton in this entire album is something that even the greatest songwriters cannot touch.
While I always listen to this album in full when I'm in a Pickering Pick mood, I find that the song that always ends up getting stuck in my head is "The Unseen Hook." A hook indeed, if you would pardon the pun. The melody is one that you won't forget easily in your lifetime; the utterance of the album's title in there is so pleasantly placed. I wonder if Sam named the album after that lyric, or the lyric after the album. Like I said, I don't want to know. The veil of uncertainty in music can never be lifted for albums that are as extraordinary as this one. I'm so urged to ask Sam about so many things. I want to ask him what inspired him to write each and every song here, what led him to choose the melodies that he chose, and so on and so forth. They're questions that I'm dying to know the answers to, but at the same time I'd rather not. I'd rather stay here in my pool of uncertainty, listening to this album again and again and again and having only my own interpretation to live off of. I've never felt that way about music before.
A Twitch Upon the Thread has inspired me greatly. For one, it helped me get back into my songwriting, and I wrote two songs within my first week of hearing the record. My songs "Ballad For An American Dream" and "Dead One" are songs that rank immensely high in my own song rankings. A piece of me wishes that I hadn't come up with them, and that Sam himself did, just so I could hear my works in his flawless style. But I know that it isn't that way, and I know that I need to work on making my songs my own. That's really the key thing behind this record as a whole: you can hear that this is his music. You can hear that Sam cares about who he's singing about, about what he's singing about. You can hear the care in each and every guitar strum, in each and every annunciation. Sam Pickering Pick here has created one of the truest albums in musical history here.
There will be many people around the world who will have the unfortunate displeasure of never getting to hear this, but for the ones who do get to hear it, we are the truly lucky ones. Sam, I hope you take your next record to heart as much as you did this one...not that I need to tell you in order for it to happen.
Thanks Sam. |
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tobeanecho
Digital
[Rating15908631]
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"Shine" is his most alluring song to date. A Twitch Upon the Thread is Pickering Pick's best, and that is no small statement.*
*I never listened to the first three albums. That is going to change. If this isn't his best, he's made something completely essential. |
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SeaBelt
 9/10
Digital
[Rating15723951]
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A Twitch Upon the Thread is an invitation to come in from the cold, take off your coat and warm yourself a while by the fire. If you do, you'll be in the company of good friends and surrounded by the sounds of beautiful music. |
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monkeychunx
That theres some great Le Stag.
Digital
[Rating15637444]
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OK, Lets write a review of Mr Pickering Picks new album.
First I wonder what Microphone hes using, and if the guitar is recorded at the same time as the vocals. I myself should get a new microphone but this computer Microphone I have is working for me for now.
Anyway I won't talk about me this is a review, Good Singer, I wonder if these were first takes or not, The guitar could be a bit louder, heres what I do when I sing I put the microphone right next to the guitar and then sing over the top, my mouth is no where near the microphone. Actually some of my tracks the voice is too loud aswell, but hey I'm still a beginner at recording. Damn I'm talking about myself again sorry Mr Pick.
I'm up to track 3 now Catherine, the Sky is Bright. These songs are really good, the kind of stuff my Mum would like, actually she just came in here and asked me who this was I said Pickering Pick, she said "It's Good". Which is a change I played an album of covers I just made to her and she said she only likes one song, where I'm singing normally, maybe I should cover Pickering Pick songs, then she'd probably like it, I told her I'm going to make her a serious Covers album for her birthday, that'll be good. Damn I'm talking about myself again, sorry Mr Pick.
This Catherine song is really good, whats that instrument, mouth organ, yeah it sounds good, I still think the guitar is too quite, it may be my speakers though they are really shit, the old ones broke, so I made do with a crappy older pair I bought ages ago. OH now were up to Statues in the Sand. Hmmm I wonder if I could sing like this, good song, yeah I know I'm talking about myself again, Sorry.
Mellybear just came in, where out of shapes, she likes Pickering Pick too. Track 5. Oh I remember now Harmonica, thats what its called. Sally hey, wasn't she in home and away, Hmmm I've got some Pasta and Sphaghetti, its hot. Damn Ozzo is disgusting, I was drinking it straight earlier, bad decision to get that instead of Black Douglas.
Shine now, was that a melotrone, how do you spell it?, you know what I mean. I hate Aeroplanes, I mean how could something that big and heavy be meant to fly in the air, it goes against all the laws of physics.
Ballad of Kevvy and Jenny, I've heard this before, its really good, congratulations to both of you. I wonder what type of guitar this is? 128 Kbps Mp3's aren't the best though. It still sounds good though. I'm a bit anal I like everything at 320kbps.
Oh heres the unseen hook, so far the best song on here, Is this a Cover?, Its Great, I think I've heard it before, maybe because I listened to this album a few days ago, I have real problems with my short term memory and long term memory sometimes, the two get confused and something that happened only a few days ago seemed like it happened years ago.
Makri now, lyrics?, no, hey I can here the guitar :p
Pickering Pick good album, now that its done. It was very relaxing. Good whiskey drinking album I think. Good Job. OK I'm going to go now, I've got some horrible tasting Ozzo to get drunk on. |
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rym
