Stuart Moxham & Louis Philippe – The Devil Laughs
Tiny Global Productions – 17 July 2020
What do you do when you’re too old to be a Young Marble Giant? You form a new band, The Gist, go solo and now, finally, record with Louis Philippe, The Devil Laughs. The genesis of this album dates back over six years, with the fruits of this collaboration with soccer writer and broadcaster Philippe only now seeing the light of day. The question one should have upon hearing this music is, what took so long to get it released?
With an upstroke on guitar, the latest chapter begins, gentle acoustics mix with an electric as Tidy Away unfurls a tale of depression. “So many ways of filling up the days and closing doors,” speaks volumes, yet the music is as warm and gentle as a summer breeze. A sliding bass line and acoustic piano lead into Day Must Come, where the narrator makes it clear, “Girl I want to thank you now/ As strange as it seems/ Because by saying no/ You keep alive my dreams.“ Later in the track, they sing “fun” as if it were a Brian Wilson symphonic serenade.
Bass and drums form a heavy beat for Love Hangover, lightened slightly by the acoustic guitar and keyboards. Yet this is a tale about endings and the bones one still has left to pick. And despite it all, the vocals soar as the song makes its way to the finish line. A brash blast of keys leads off Untitled #2, a brisk and brusque insinuation of a song. Played in bursts, Come To Me Nancy begins with a gentle keyboard and bass, yet the song takes on a slightly darker tone as it continues growing louder after having sung, “I never thought that/That this could be/ More broken hearted/ Down on my knee.”
Lightening considerably, Head In A Song unspools a tale of past love, “You were the sight of a million ideas/ I was confronting my fears/ Looking for light in a tunnel so tight/ Trying to see through the tears,” over a bed of guitar, bass and the synthesized flute. The harmonies that open Singing Out are played out against a single guitar, suggesting a kind of universality to some of life’s moments, “Is there music for where you are/ On the soundtrack to life so far?/ In a desert away from home/ Or a train when you’re on your own/ Something magic something true/ singing out not just for you.”
Through The Devil Laughs, Stuart Moxham and Louis Philippe have created a mini-masterpiece. While it has lingered unreleased for the past six years, rejoice in the fact that music of this magnitude is finally being released to a world that has never needed it more.
Order via Norman Records | Bandcamp