The tracks are brief but they’re also snapshots of sheer elegance and as such, their length is therefore arguably perfect from a qualitative perspective as they make you want to listen again and again.
There’s not a note out of place on this album, even the quiet moments are perfection
I’m not too familiar with John McCaffrey’s (aka Part Timer) work but I am familiar with Hibernate Recordings and I’ve always enjoyed their output. So I’ve been looking forward to reviewing this album and after a good solid five listens now, I’m still falling in love with some of the piano work on it—it’s got some genuinely beautiful pieces and even though some, if not all are a little brief, it does nothing to negate that beauty. The album itself runs at just over 30 minutes, but there’s also a 20 minute interview with the artist—more on that later.
Much of the album is ambient/instrumental with some light experimentation and there’s even flashes of early noughties post-rock style adding to the nostalgic essence that drips from every note and chord on every piece. McCaffrey is obviously a very talented musician capable of thought-provoking arrangements that go beyond a lot of contemporary music of a similar aesthetic. There’s a strong cinematic undulance that I personally find captivating, gentle and very moving. The emotionality isn’t of the saccharine variety either, it’s the sort that can make a person fall in love.
Whether Part Timer is an Ennio Morricone fan or not, I don’t know. Although most people know Morricone for his iconic Western themes. Some of my personal favorites were the soundtracks he did for Italian romantic films in the 1970s that were rich in melody, cadence and had a sort of simplistic beauty that was so natural, it was impossible not to fall in love with them. McCaffrey has this talent in abundance and that ‘simplicity’ of sound isn’t easy to achieve. There’s not a note out of place on this album, even the quiet moments are perfection.
A beautiful album from start to finish. Possibly one of the finest in that genre I’ve heard in the past year or two.
As mentioned earlier, the tracks are brief but they’re also snapshots of sheer elegance and as such, their length is therefore arguably perfect from a qualitative perspective as they make you want to listen again and again. The album closes with a 20 minute interview/chat with the artist about his music, recording techniques and his life if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Bizarrely, the interview was sent as a 24bit uncompressed file.
Overall, Reaching Ends is a beautiful album from start to finish. Possibly one of the finest in that genre I’ve heard in the past year or two. Part Timer is certainly no Part Timer. His music is exquisite.
Sidenote: I would have appreciated being able to make some comments on the technical aspects of the album, it is obviously well produced. However, I was rather dismayed to find that such a beautiful album had been sent out for review in a heavily compressed format I’ve not listened to in possibly a decade. I’m used to listening to music on a daily basis at 24bit/96khz HD resolution and have been for a long time now. This is certainly not a criticism of the music, just a little disappointing. It’s akin to seeing a print of a beautiful painting, it’s nice, you can appreciate it but you can’t really appreciate the true detail and true beauty. I would have expected a label with the name Analogue Chats to have held similar views. CD quality would have done perfectly well.
Reaching Ends is available on Analogue Chat May 14, 2021. [Bandcamp]
