Sinnober – Projection
Self Released – Out Now
Despite the vast amounts of wonderful music that assails our ears today, it is still both refreshing and surprising when an album peaks above our expectations. This was the case with “Projection”, the creation of Sebastian & Natalie Brice who go under the title of Sinnober. In their own words, they are a “jazz-folk-rock fusion”; a description that might have put me off in my less tolerant days but thankfully not this time and what I found was indeed a seamless musical fusion of genres and so much more.
Everything about this album is elegant – The CD artwork is simple, enigmatic and luxurious: what at first appears to be a booklet opens out to a large glossy, black page with lyrics with the CD artwork enlarged on the other side. It is a stunning collection of songs, sensitively arranged, beautifully played and produced and faultlessly recorded.
“Angels of Snow and Fire” opens the album with effect driven electric guitar and cello creating an almost mystical background to the gorgeous harmony vocals and the drums of Dave Smith (Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters) which are spare but so effective.
The next song came as a surprise: acoustic guitar and accordion accompany Natalie in a heart-wrenching version of the Tom Rush classic “No Regrets”. This song of lost love has been one of my favourites since first hearing it in the early 1970s. I never thought I’d hear a version I preferred to the original but now I think I have. This is one of two songs featuring Natalie on lead vocals; I’d have liked more but then Sebastian is also a great singer!
“True North” is a more typical soft rock song but the production is sympathetic; the cello again complementing electric guitar, harmonies and sympathetic percussion. Another slightly surprising choice is the hymn “When a Knight Won His Spurs” although it’s sensitively interpreted and it fits well with the rest of the material. It was written by the English writer Jan Struther (best known for her character Mrs Miniver) and is often performed by folk singers, most notably Martin Simpson.
The songwriting on “Projection” is musically varied, with clever lyrics addressing the human condition in its infinite variety. The instrumentation on each track is perfectly chosen to complement the lyric, as is the case with “Garbo’s Song” on which piano and drums introduce a song for our times when mental health is at a crisis point. Heather Truesdall’s cello, along with harmonies and bass help to evoke the loneliness that many of us feel and the secrets we keep.
“No one knows, no one sees
What goes on behind the curtain
Who’s been hiding, who’s been hurting”
Natalie’s next vocal lead is on “Succesful”, a song critiquing the emotional cost that modern living places on relationships. Featuring flumpet, a cross between trumpet and flugelhorn, the track is weighted to the jazz corner of “jazz-folk-rock”.
“You say the right words at the right time
While I fumble around on the emotional breadline”
On the first of two duets, “I don’t want to read the news anymore” speaks for many of us who see the news as upsetting; horrors beyond our understanding and beyond our ability to help. The final duet is “Alexandra Leaving”, a simple, powerful interpretation of a Leonard Cohen song. It is beautifully sung and played and it leaves this listener desperately wanting more.
“Projection” transcends the “jazz-folk-rock” description. Both the covers and self-written songs leave a lasting impression and food for thought. Like the album packaging, from the arrangements to the recording and production, this is all top class.
Sebastian and Natalie Bryce are two very talented people. The care they have exercised in producing this album is very evident: it is no wonder that they have caught the ear of BBC R6 and others. Projection is an exceptional album.
Order Projection via Bandcamp here: https://sinnober.bandcamp.com/album/projection