I AM PROUD OF YOU

Some ten years ago I was a member of the ProgArchives Crossover Team (yes, to be allowed to be included on PA each band is judged by a committee). We were asked to pass our critical eyes and ears over the somewhat strangely named Mice On Stilts and I was somewhat surprised, nay amazed, to discover they hailed from Auckland. There followed a period of discovery which soon led me to TeMatera Smith and AAA Records, getting involved with the label and turning up at Red Room Studios, and of course catching up with MoS and helping them with the publicity for their debut. I was fortunate enough to catch them in concert quite a bit, and was there the night they supported Yes at the Aotea Centre. However, they were a band in flux, and not everyone who was playing at that time had been on the debut, and there were more changes afoot during and after the recording of Hope For A Mourning, and soon they had disappeared. I was deeply saddened by this state of affairs as Ben Morley (vocals, guitar) had a real presence and knack for producing wonderful songs, and they had caught the ears of the prog scene in a way which was most unusual ? as I write this in 2023, their debut is still the #2 most highly rated NZ release on PA, while Hope is #4. Then, lo and behold, I saw a post on FB raving about their new album which immediately had me contacting Ben to find out what was going on, and here I am now listening to something which is both sublime and majestic.

With seven years since the last album, and a lot of time when the band was non-operational, it is no surprise there have been major changes in the line-up, but Benjamin Morley (vocals, guitars) and Robert Sanders (drums & percussion) are still there, while Tim Burrows (synth) makes an appearance on the album although he is no longer part of the live line-up where Ben and Tim are joined by Andrew Isdale (guitar, piano), Tim Shacklock (bass, cello), Charlie Isdale (saxophone, violin), and Sam Loveridge (violin, guitars). Back in the day Ben described their music as acoustic doom, and while in many ways I could see what he was getting at, that description never really sat well with me, but with this album it makes perfect sense as while it sits across many categories and influences that is exactly what it is. For An Ocean Held Me I said, "in some ways it is early Pink Floyd, Muse, Radiohead, VDGG, Peter Hammill, Roy Harper and others, but mostly it is Mice On Stilts" and that description still holds, yet here with a majesty which is sublime. There is a real use of space in this album, arrangements which feel light yet should be cluttered given their multi-instrumentalist brass and string approach to this style of crossover proressive rock, yet somehow manage to feel both ephemeral and strong as steel at the same time.

This is deep, incredibly so, both musically and lyrically, which is described by Ben as exploring "the growing pains of addiction, sobriety and recovery. From court houses to hospital beds and jail cells to rehab, the album is an introspective offering of redemption." There are times when this is a rock album, others where it is folk or singer songwriter, yet others when it is chamber music or switching into Art Zoyd style avant, and all of this can be heard on the 7 minute plus National Radio which is a sheer delight.

Mice on Stilts are back. Oh boy are they back.

In a New Releases discussion over at frequented music forum, a member made mention of the band's March 2023 release I Am Proud Of You, and described their music as "Chamber Progressive".

"Chamber Progressive". Now that was a descriptor that captured my attention.

There are few styles more pleasing to my particularly particular ear than the fusion of classical and rock elements. I mean, sure I'm a dyed-in-the-wool ELO fan, but if you start me talking about late era Beatles, The Left Banke, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, or hell anything related to Baroque Pop, be sure to plan an exit strategy.

Anyway, the fusion of classical and rock in progressive music is nothing new, but the "chamber" descriptor evoked images of string quartets, clockwork baroque precision, and the warmth and pleasure of sweeping melodic orchestrations stripped down to their most immediate impact.

Accordingly, one could characterize Mice On Stilts' music via their complex, multi-layered arrangements, weaving in stylistic elements such as folk, rock, and classical. Prog sensibilities make themselves apparent through intricate composition, dynamic use of time and tempo, and the use of diverse instrumentation. With the usual guitars, bass, synths, and drums, you'll hear woodwinds, cellos, violins, and piano. And God knows what else.

The unifying thematic content for I Am Proud Of You is a prevailing sense of loss, desperation, and struggle. Band founder, lead vocalist, and lyricist Ben Morley incorporated themes of addiction, incarceration, and isolation throughout the album, alongside existential reflections on relationships, abandonment, and identity.

As such, I Am Proud Of You is a somber and sobering meditation on both the immediate stinging rawness and prolonged dull ache of human desperation. And yet it is presented with lush, ornate beauty alongside tender simplicity and immediacy, resulting in a commanding and emotionally resonant work. Through Morley's haunting vocals and deeply poetic lyrics, the lush orchestral arrangements, crisp production values, and a tone that undulates between pastoral and progressive, I Am Proud Of You delivers a rich musical soundscape through a reflexive journey of redemption.

Almost instantly, the album's production and engineering command attention. This is a beautiful sounding album, creating a vast soundscape of crisp vocals and warm acoustic openness. The mix never feels loud, busy, or cluttered; this is no "wall of sound". The production gives each musical element distinct space to breathe, resulting in a wonderfully dynamic presentation that is both dramatic and ornate, yet also fresh and immediate. It's less of a production as it is a performance.

The album goes to the well with a deep sense of introspection and reflection, using imagery of New Zealand's natural landscape to convey emotional content. The towering kauri trees in "Through The Kauri", vast mountain ranges of "Ranges In The West", and devouring oceans in "The Wreck of The Wahine" generate feelings of chaos, destruction, scale, and timelessness, juxtaposing the struggles of the individual against the eternity of the human condition.

Using such transcendental imagery contrasts pain and sorrow against timeless beauty and wonder beyond our existential scope, underscored by the integration of orchestral elements with traditional rock, folk, and prog structures. The fingerpicking acoustic guitar intro to "Edge of the Garden" brings to mind a pastoral warmth, whereas the introduction of strings and piano both reinforce that notion whilst also generating dramatic conflict. By the time the song evolves into a full band piece, the emotional struggle is not just real, it feels epic.

"Wreck of the Mahine" takes root in the real-life sinking of the island ferry Wahine in 1968, in which 53 passengers were killed on the reef. The atmospheric introduction builds into a driving rhythm section, mirroring the intensity of the lyrics. With "Devotion Decline", slow and deliberate melancholic melodies give shape to haunting interfamilial struggles. This continues with "Grey Diving Bell", deliberate and haunting with comparatively sparse instrumentation and mournful vocals over a hypnotic, meditative guitar and piano. This builds towards a more cinematic ending without betraying its soulful immediacy.

Speaking of soulful, there's a slinky jazz vibe to "When Will We See The Day. Its steady tempo, seductive saxophone line, and driving drum work evoke dark, candle-lit bars, the clinks of glasses and subdued mindless background conversations. Amid all that, the music delivers soul and poignancy via its utilization of religious iconography (doves, crosses, oceans) in an eternal search for hope.

Similar to many tracks on this album, "National Radio" starts simple and builds into layers of instrumentation and harmonies. Mid-song the track pulls itself back with a swirling string instrumental interlude, before erupting into a Floyd like crescendo for its final act. This is an album standout, exemplifying the ethos for this record in its purest form.

Fingerpicked guitar returns in the introduction to "Ranges In The West", a track that seems to be equally about abandonment from both perspectives (the one who leaves, the one left behind). This is a solid track but it's right around here that you really start feeling the album's length. On its own the track is fine and worthwhile, but as an album track it flirts with repetition without adding meaningful development.

Jasmine Balmer takes co-lead vocal credit on "Through The Kauri", a wonderful take on the dynamic of delusory codependence, or maybe the breakdown of any everyday relationship. The beauty in this number is in what both singers bring to the table together, adding perspective, nuance, and mutual assurance of dread. What is more confining than heading back into the prison of a relationship gone sour.? A tasty guitar solo wails with ominous urgency, and the track ends with a tangible musical sense of drowning.

"Jigsaw Legs" features some exquisite double bass playing, sounding so natural and organic between unresolved 9th and assuring major chords on the guitar and a buzzing mist of strings blowing through. It's a curious musical tableau upon which to construct a haunting tale of addiction and its ensuing emotional fragmentation, but an engaging one.

"Anxiety Baby" opens with the closest this record has come to a straight rock bluesy feel. A deconstruction of anxiety, unbelonging, and self-loathing, it terrifies with how it does so much with comparatively little compositional movement. Delievered in abundance are the usual layers of strings, haunting vocals, and other production elements we've come to expect from this record. Yet in essence, the song stays in the realm of that single opening bluesy chord. Less is more, even with more, and "Anxiety Baby" demonstrates that with all its exuberant unified discordance.

A pleasing melodic piano line opens the album closer, "To Somewhere Else". The song features only six lines, with lyrics that are as direct as they are irresolute:

Where to? Just somewhere else All I know, I want to forget This world was never enough But the time drifts on

Look ahead, how far do you see? Now look up at the sky above

I view this as a hopeful message, one of affirmation and acceptance. Or perhaps deliverance. Others might take it to a more tragic conclusion. Either way, its a simple but effective closing track to the album, delivering the album's journey to a measure of dramatic closure.

I Am Proud Of You is a fascinating record: lush, beautiful, exquisitely produced, and emotionally brutal. It uses rich orchestrations alongside traditional rock, folk, prog, even indie elements to create something wholly unique and transporting. At about an hour in length it might tend to sag just a bit towards the middle, but any feelings of drag are quickly dissipated by Mice On Stilts' musical confidence and compelling delivery. I Am Proud Of You, as mentioned before, is a performance, not a production. It commands attention through both compositional excellence and empathetic immediacy. Delve into rough seas with this journey well worth taking.

Master songwriter Ben Morley is back with his first album since 2016's masterpiece, Hope for a Mourning--an album that has steadily climbed my list of all-time favorite albums to where it has lately been sitting at number 81. Ben has apparently been going through a lot of tough times--much of which are reflected in the music and lyrics of this album.

1. "Edge of the Garden" (7:30) nighttime nature sounds precedes the entrance of Ben's guitar and voice. This is a patterns that we're going to see a lot on this album: an opening and first verse of acoustic guitar play as lone support for Ben's plaintive voice. Cello, piano, flute, and female and male harmony vocals join in during successive verses, each coming and going in unpredictable fashion. At the end of the third minute there is a coming out party for an instrumental section as low drums, cello, flutes, synths, and bass all join together to fill the auralsphere--and they stay as Ben & co. return to sing more chorus-like vocal lines. Then at 5:05 we return to the bare-bones acoustic palette of the opening minute for a spell--until at 5:38 the drums finally lay down the law with a willful pattern that encourages the joinder of electric bass, electric guitar, organ, and solo trumpet. Awesome! (13.75/15)

2. "The Wreck of the Wahine" (5:00) two picked guitars playing off one-another open this one, creating a beautiful weave, over which Ben sings a quite strong, forward vocal. What a voice! Another one of those singers who makes unpredictable and unusual note choices as he creates his melodies (reminding me of the uber-gifted chanteuse from iNFiNiEN, Chrissy Loftus). Ben's incredibly emotive voice also reminds me of the late great Robbie Wilson of AUTUMN CHORUS. The music continues to build in a Post Rock kind of way to its conclusion. (No, Ben did not really lose control.) (9.25/10)

3. "Devotion Decline" (5:21) this one reminds me so much like the vocal story-telling talents and musical delivery approach of Bristol (England)'s late great singer-songwriter, Nick Talbot (of GRAVENHURST). heavily orchestrated, this one definitely feels like a chamber collaboration as piano, picked acoustic guitars, keening cello, drums, strings synths, and multiple background "choir" vocals all contribute to the thick, lush soundscape used to carry the story. It all builds and builds until the end of the fourth minute when everything cuts away until cello and piano are the only two instruments supporting (and weaving in and around) Ben's voice. Great instrumental finish. Great composition. (9.25/10)

4. "Grey Diving Bell" (3:40) beautiful melodies and singing supported by folk guitar and, later, as the song develops, piano, double bass, cello, horns. Ben and his record company released a version of this one back in December of 2021 but I'm glad they chose to include it on this album. (9.125/10)

5. "When Will We See the Day?" (3:53) another song that opens with just Ben singing over his gently-picked acoustic guitar. Strings and simply-brushed drum kit join in during the second minute. Saxophone and full drums move forward during the instrumental second half while strings continue to lay down a beautifully flowing background. Beautiful! (9.25/10)

6. "National Radio" (7:25) the early release "hit" of the album. Again, the Nick Talbot comparisons are definitely warranted as there is a creepy feel to the sparsely percussive piano and drum support given Ben's vocal for the first 2:25. Then full band with banked horns join in--until 3:28 when everything cuts out to make way for a kind of chamber strings-and-piano interlude. The second half of the song proceeds as if a kind of jam for sax, electric guitar, drums, and Ben's vocalizations. Very cool! A top three song for me. (9.333/10)

7. "Ranges in the West" (5:16) picked acoustic guitar and Ben open this one; ben's lilting vocal so heart-wrenchingly beautiful--reminding me, again, of the kind of vocal melody choices that the late Robbie Wilson would make. Cello and background female vocal joins in for the chorus before giving way to a chamber strings bridge back to the next verse. Piano, bass, and distant background vocals are much more prominent here. What amazing key and melody shifts! And I love the cello, violin, and Uilleann pipe additions. Such a masterful composition--I feel as if I've just been witness to an Alfred Hitchcock film. Definitely a top three song for me. (10/10)

8. "Through the Kauri" (4:33) female torch singer Jasmine Balmer opens this one, singing over gentle piano accompaniment with synth and vocal incidentals contributing in the background. At 1:20, Ben and the rest of the band take the reins over, full drums at 2:20. By the time the fourth minute rolls around, a wailing violin-sounding electric guitar has entered and taken over the lead, taking the song almost to its EBERHARD WEBER-like end. Very cool song. Another top three for me. (9.333/10)

9. "Jigsaw Legs" (7:23) strummed acoustic guitars and jazzy double bass open this one giving it an almost BRUCE COCKBURN feel. But then Ben enters, singing in a lighter, higher register. A more quirky song than is typical, the lyrical content and vocal delivery, however, only serve to amp up the eerie-creep factor. Masterful in the same way Nick Talbot could sing a beautiful melody and tone to deliver a song about pyromania or other odd and disturbing mindsets. Amazing! And then there's the off-kilter instrumental finish: 90 seconds of odd reverb, space, and detuned string twangs and reverse electric guitar sounds. Brilliant! (14.25/15)

10. "Anxiety Baby" (6:08) bleeding over from the previous song definitely sets this one up for an eerie, disturbing start. And it really delivers. The music and vocal opens as if being performed by someone who's unhinged (perhaps a recollection of a suicide attempt or imagined suicide?) The music expands richly over the monotonously pounding drum and bass play with with dancing synths and layers of strings until at 5:08 the drums, bass, and organ launch into a very heavy, if brief, instrumental finale. (9/10)

11. "To Somewhere Else" (4:33) contemplative solo piano is joined by Ben's plaintive voice singing as if looking back on a life retrospectively. Background "ooo"'s and "eee"'s with floatacious flute and discombobulated strings join in for support and effect during the second minute. I guess this must be the entry to Heaven. During the third and fourth minutes, then, the music all gels a bit into some smoother, more seemless textures before dropping off and giving way to cricket sounds. Again, masterful song-structuring. (9/10)

Total Time 60:42

Due to my love of the band's previous two albums, this one arrived with rather high expectations. One of the most notable observations of my listening experience with this album was how damn fast each song passed! Nothing drags despite the slower tempos and occasionally morosely heavy music and lyrics. The music often starts out with a sparse, folk-like atmosphere--usually Ben and one other instrument--making the music feel very similar to that of Nick Talbot's final Gravenhurst album, 2012's The Ghost in Daylight, but then they build with the gradual--or sometimes sudden-- addition of other stringed and wind instruments. This is not so different from the songwriting styles as expressed on previous Mice On Stilts albums, it just that the bare bones of each song here feel much more acoustically pronounced- -even the embellishing instruments feel more "acoustic" than electronic (though I have the feeling that there is quite a bit of the latter throughout the album--disguised for the fact that they are doubling up real, acoustic instruments in the foreground.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of emotional Chamber-Folk prog. Highly recommended for any music lover who has the patience and time to sit and be immersed in emotion-packed beauty.