Lost James – Chapman’s Pool
Independent – Out Now
Sometimes a record assails the senses with its startling beauty, Chapman’s Pool is one such.
To mark his 40th birthday, London indie-folk musician Lost James has released his debut E.P., the aforementioned Chapman’s Pool. Available in a variety of formats, the six original, self-composed songs feature only his voice, piano and basic effects, mainly simple percussion, and whilst this may suggest that the end product might be a seemingly sparse and spartan affair, in fact, often the soundscape is anything but; dynamically it is often sweeping and expansive. Indeed this is entirely in keeping with the geographic location which gives the release its name.
Self-taught on the piano at 16, after university Lost James moved to Dorset and discovered the small cove named Chapman’s Pool, (I would like to think after first having chanced upon the local Square & Compass Pub), a location he frequently visited over the ensuing years. Further evidence of the inspiration provided by the spot is provided by the fact that the artwork for the E.P. also uses Polaroid images he has taken whilst there.
Thematically, the six songs featured read as snap-shots of his diary over the years, mainly presented from the first-person perspective, and are linked and woven together by a recurring twin-thread of nature and human emotion. Further writing, to accompany each song, can also be found on his Instagram account.
The deceptively simple opening track, Sunday, immediately grabs the listener’s attention, the upright piano, recorded in his living room, as are all of the E.P.’s tracks, together with the crystal-clear vocals, giving an immediacy and presence akin to a live performance in your own front room.
Musically, Toast begins with a much more upbeat piano motif and, in parts, vocals that in a blind-listening would be difficult to distinguish from some of The Smiths’ work, such are the intonation patterns. As with many of the songs on the CD, unless I’m well-wide of the mark, lyrics are open to interpretation, which is I offer as a compliment. Here for example,
‘Jesus! He just left
After he put me in his hands
Don’t believe a word he had said
We’ll hang him from the judas tree’
might refer to a rejection of faith, or it could be metaphorical, and Sunday may not be written from the perspective of a child. Intriguing stuff.
The nature references, melting ice, geese, snow, alongside more personal, emotional feelings,
‘And I will have another dream
One of those where you can fly
And wake up in the darkest hour
Still missing you’
underscore Wintersong, which is a sublime offering. With a memorable vocal delivery redolent of the very best of solo Peter Hammill, this is 2 minutes 45 seconds of near-perfection.
Whilst In Bed and Volcano both clearly also exemplify the mature song-writing skill of Lost James, it is with the final track that he achieves the seemingly tautological feat of producing a symphonic sound whilst at the same time retaining an intense and intimate style.
‘And still I wonder
Why you look at me that way
When you looked at me and said
“Don’t look for me you won’t find me, I belong to the mountains and the deep blue sea”’
is indeed an enigmatic way with which to end this wonderful debut.
Lost James expresses the view that “The idea of the project was to create something authentic that reflected both nature and human emotion”. I humbly suggest that he has succeeded admirably. Furthermore, an on-line search found the lyrics to Vines, a song which failed to make the cut here, the quality of which suggests potential for further releases, something that would be warmly anticipated in these quarters.
If you are a fan of stripped-back singer-songwriter material then Chapman’s Pool should be given a listen, it is a memorable debut. If you are not, then giving this a listen should go a long way towards converting you.