Matt Webster is a man with the soul of a poet and storyteller, creating alternative rock with his Bradford based project, Signia Alpha. With the latest album Entropy, he has been joined by Paul Gray (The Damned) on Rickenbacker bass guitar with other musicians making appearances on tracks. Harris (Chaing, Grim, Nowt, Zed), Is one of these, who has co-written and sings on six of the tracks. To quote the release ‘Guitarist Wulf Ingham lends his psychedelic solos to a couple of tracks’ and ‘jazz saxophonist Keith Jafrate and flautist Chris Walsh sprinkle their melodic flourishes over several songs.’ I say flourish away!
Punk meets Pink Floyd is how one might sum up the track “Such A Shame,” with its pogoing rhythm married to bewitching guitar work. Simon ‘Nogsy‘ Nolan (SpyBand, Zed) sings on and co-wrote “On Diego Garcia,” a commentary on the disputed Island which is currently owned by the British, with a US Naval base present, while all the previous inhabitants were forced to leave. This was found to be illegal by The Hague, but was ignored by the UK and “On Diego Garcia” is a protest song about the injustices.
“A New Dawn” has a undercurrent dirge like the ocean water pulling and pushing at boats, a alluring sadness, perhaps the subject matter within the lyrics are looking for safety, only to be faced with another shoreline to leave and more dangers ahead. The bass is sublime in “Hourglass,” which goes through a gamut of emotions such as loss, longing and sadness, for as we get older, we realise the fragility of all. This is reflected by the music ranging from introspective to a guitar filled rage. Those flute flourishes can be heard in the “The Price Of Admission,” in conjunction with a more thoughtful sound that echoes with a life maybe less lived or rather, perhaps, limited in their choices.
The paisley park feel to the music is in stark contrast to the bleak words in the single “Feels Like Rain,” and that bleak story telling, which only those who have lived it or watched it first hand, can be experienced in the next track, “Building Castles In Spain.” Mathew Seamarks (Disciples of Spess) is the vocalist and co-wrote with Webster, with its endearing dreamer quality and the beautiful jangly guitar backing up those vocals. The airiness of the flute and saxophone, wants to fly you away but the vocals of Harris weigh you down in the knowledge that life is “Waiting.” Waiting for the end and the inevitable. I have to say that “The Atmosphere” caught me by surprise with harkening back to David Bowie yet having that XTC musical sensibility. It is a simply a post-punk gem, while the last track, “Kaleidoscope Wheels” is a psychedelic trip with a hurdy gurdy of circling sounds and voices, melding into a maelstrom, destined to collapse.
Hard to pick a favourite out of this lot as everything is just class, but for me, probably, “The Atmosphere” definitely transports me back to another place. The attitude throughout is very much a punk one, pointing towards what is wrong with the world, but not the anger of young men. Rather, we are seeing these issues through the eyes of the world weary, knowing that life is precious and telling you the stories that deserve to be heard. The musicianship is grand and you really couldn’t ask for a better bunch contributing. Entropy is the measurements of thermodynamics, and the energy given by Signia Alpha is nothing short of pure musical wizardry.
Onyx Music Reviews 