ONE FOR SORROW, TWO FOR JOY

Over two months of listening to "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy," I've been transfixed by its beauty. What an emotionally satisfying listen. This album is another affirmation of the welcome revival of outstanding music from the UK (see also Sanguine Hum and Big Big Train). Phil Mercy's writing has continued to develop depth and sophistication. The stately (but not lugubrious) pace the album takes for much of its length makes it easy to settle into for an uninterrupted listen.

If I were to describe the music, I would say it takes the harmonic approach of the first two National Health albums and folds it into a verdant English pastoral mood. The textures are usually "lush" but never thick and congested, always supporting and never overwhelming Amy Darby's beautiful singing. I can't help comparing her to Amanda Parsons in the climax of "Of Sparks and Spires." There's plenty of shifting terrain for the rhythmic section (half of Sanguine Hum's "Diving Bell" configuration), but never in a tricky way, always following the contours and shapes of the melody and drama. The melodies stick with me and float pleasingly throughtout my mind long after a listen. It's lovingly recorded with a wonderful sense of texture and naturalness and no hint of producer-itis.

If you have a taste for sophisticated symphonic prog with that unmistakable British thing about it, you really owe it to yourself to have this album.