Penguin Cafe
Rain Before Seven…
Erased Tapes
7 July 2023
Since the founding of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra by Simon Jeffes in the early 1970s, the avant-garde group have seemed to almost exist outside of contemporary time – as if ageless, belonging to both the past and the future. Jeffes’ early death, at the age of only 48 in 1997, naturally brought the Orchestra to an abrupt close (beyond some reunions in the mid-2000s). Still, several years later, his son Arthur conceived, alongside his mother, Emily Young, the new Penguin Cafe continuing his father’s original remarkable vision but layering it with an equally unique aura all of his own.
The rather glorious Rain Before Seven… marks Penguin Café’s fifth album since they formed in 2009, and a thrilling, captivating, and striking listen it is too. With all tracks written by Jeffes or co-written alongside musical director and string arranger Oli Langford, Rain Before Seven… continues his father’s legacy but ensures there is plenty of space to play with a few imaginative touches of his own. In addition, with violin from Clementine Brown and Oli Langford, cello from Rebecca Waterworth, and contrabass from Andy Waterworth, whilst Avvon Chambers provides percussion and Alessandro Stefana on lap steel and soundscapes, Jeffes has curated an eclectic mix of musicians. Jeffes himself takes the lead on a multitude of instruments, including piano, melodica, ukulele, synth and even balafon (a gourd-resonated xylophone), dulcitone and cuatro (a South American string instrument devised from the Spanish guitar). It’s a beautifully orchestral and immersive sound that characterises Rain Before Seven… At times grand and cinematic, at times spectacular yet introspective, throughout always true and aurally emotive – a testament to the masterful mix by Tom Chichester-Clark and Aviv Cohen as well as the recording studios at Convento di Santa Croce in Tuscany and at Far End in Wilshire.
It’s transparently clear that his father’s presence still holds a loving and guiding light in Arthur’s musical development and artistic choices. There are echoes and callbacks to his father’s work here, as Jeffes explains: “Stylistically it’s really satisfying to get back to playful rhythms and instruments, … Certainly when starting out, I became aware that we’d stopped using quite a few of the textures that had been there at the beginning—and it was certainly there in my dad’s earlier stuff. So, there’s a lot of balafon and textures from completely different parts of the world, musically and geographically: ukuleles, cuatros and melodicas that you can hear.”
“I think his novel approach was to take interesting, weird ideas and do strange things with them,” Arthur continues, “but always while keeping an eye on making sure it sounded beautiful and emotionally engaging. … It’s a commitment that we made when I picked it up again, because we play my dad’s music but we also perform new music in the same sound world. That means I’m honour bound to keep an eye on the original thread and make sure we don’t start heading off into thrash metal territory.”
A particular highlight is the opener, Welcome to London. Inspired by the post-Covid opening of the city, it is a filmic, Morricone-esque ode to the capital. Sweeping strings punctuated by a palpitating percussive rhythm prove an irresistible introduction.
Lamborghini 754, with its electronic, resonating sound – inspired by his mother’s forty-year-old tractor – is a lovely reflective piece. It begins gently, quietly almost, with some luxurious strings easing us in before a pulsating throbbing beat emerges, and the track takes us on a brisker journey. A sense of awakening, resilient love and the vivacity of life is palpably present. Similarly, Find Your Feet is a vigorous, pop-layered slice of bliss – a groovy piece of ukulele and piano with a South American flavour. Echoes of the original Penguin Cafe Orchestra can be felt in the pulsing strings, whilst the electronic conclusion takes the band in a novel yet entirely idiosyncratic direction.
No one really leaves…, with its rising cello and tentatively mournful strings, provides a touching moment mid-point to ponder but not to dwell. Similarly, Second Variety is a slightly more sombre track, a deeper, more resonant listen – helping to provide a moment’s pause and reflection. Galahad, too, a tribute to Jeffes’ beloved dog who died aged 16, is both a lament for a life passed, and a celebration of a life well lived.
In Re Budd, another highlight and incidentally the first single from the album is a tribute to godfather Harold Budd. Opening with some rather hip balafon and a bouncy piano-led tune with an Afro-Cuban Cafe vibe, it is simply joyous – a sparkling, effervescent slither of pure merrymaking.
Closer Goldfinch Yodel has a folksy yet curiously classical vibe. A mischievous exotic dance that teases a skilfully orchestrated gambol between strings and percussion, it is a jubilant, enticing conclusion and one that ensures the lasting memory of the album is that Rain Before Seven… is a magical, precious joy. Throughout, strings, piano, cello, melodica, dulcitone and violin swoop, skip, and excite.
Whilst several tracks touch on lives past and friends gone, there is no melancholia here – rather, the sanguine acceptance of human existence. As Jeffes notes, the title also has a confident significance. It comes from an old weather proverb: ‘Rain before seven, fine before eleven’, suggesting a hopeful outlook. And at its heart, this is the mood of Rain Before Seven… There is a mature narrative here – an awareness of time passing, loss and regret, but equally a sense of hope, optimism, and sheer gladness in celebrating life and togetherness—a hopeful and restorative listening experience.
With a clever mix of classical, pop, East African, and folk influences, Jeffes’ beautifully weird, eccentric recording is a delight from start to finish. Orchestral electronica, folksy classicism, alternative avant-garde pop – it’s hard to pigeonhole the Penguin Cafe to one genre. Jeffes’ band, like his father’s, continues to surprise and enchant. Whimsical yet also beautifully poignant Rain Before Seven… is a wonderfully exciting, energising, and thoroughly immersive listening experience. Musically, it is impossible not to be swept up in its charm.
Pre-Order Rain Before Seven… via Bandcamp: https://penguincafe.bandcamp.com/album/rain-before-seven