The English seaside resort of Margate isn’t the most glamorous location in which to stage a recreation of the biblical
Exodus, then again “glamour” is hardly what the Jewish scribes were gunning for to begin with. Nevertheless, it took place; in association with British artistic organisation Artangel, the people of Margate last month bore the fruit of over three years’ hard work with a festival dedicated to the saga, while a film, also starring locals, is to air next year on Channel 4. There’s an agenda, naturally. With Britain, Europe, even America in the midst of immigration crises, right-thinking people can’t afford to miss an opportunity to urge restraint and tell off xenophobic motherfu
ckers and a sympathetic portrayal of the mistreatment of the Israelites in the
Book of Exodus is just the ticket.
Impressively, event organisers managed to commission ten well-known songwriters from Britain and America (plus one Canadian) to each compose a track inspired by one of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, the ten misfortunes bestowed by God upon the Egyptians to convince the Pharoah to release the Israelites from slavery. The Margate Exodus, and by extension the
Plague Songs, are part of a general scheme tackling the prickly immigration issue and urging conciliation rather than confrontation. There’s no singular parallel- Tony Blair doesn’t need to be convinced to “let the immigrants free” (although David Cameron may not need any convincing)- but the basic message is there: plagues are sh
it. Let’s avoid them.
The musicians featured range from young locals to international superstars and reclusive legends, and styles range from electronic and hip hop to soul and synth-pop, quite deliberately chosen to appeal to listeners across the social and cultural spectrum. But while a diverse cast, all have been marked out as among the best their generation had or has to offer. It’s not even an explicitly “Christian” album either, if such a stereotype exists; at least two of the performers are openly gay, a couple of tracks are littered with expletives and half shy away completely from religious imagery. There’s even a Scotsman on board- talk about tolerance.
I do hate the phrase “something for everyone” and all similar ones, but in this case it’s God’s honest truth; if Cody ChesnuTT, Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields) or Klashnekoff isn’t to your taste, then surely one of either Rufus Wainwright, Imogen Heap or Scott Walker is. Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno (with Robert Wyatt) offer fairly minimalistic electronic compositions, Klashnekoff and Cody ChesnuTT reach for the jugular with explosive hip hop and soul arrangements respectively, while Stephin Merritt offers up a slice of synth pop pie. Singer-songwriters are represented most heavily, but even so those tracks range from King Creosote’s ‘Relate the Tale,’ which echoes post-Beatles McCartney to Rufus Wainwright’s jazz-inflected folk number ‘Katonah.’
The quality of the material can’t be called in to question- these are experienced, talented songwriters and while most of the tracks probably wouldn’t feature among their authors’ best works, they’ve all clearly taken the project seriously (especially Cody ChesnuTT, who was apparently
“used as a vessel by the Creator to communicate his Righteous Authority.” He should sue. Not every track is of a high standard, however. The Tiger Lilies’ ‘Hailstones’ aims for Antony & The Johnsons but comes across as more of an awkward meeting of a young Coldplay and latter day Simply Red, as singer Martyn Jacques’ crackly falsetto never really settles on top of the admittedly beautiful piano-led accompaniment. Robert Wyatt and Laurie Anderson provide back-to-back airings of the underappreciated art of vaguely tuneful mumbling; the former is accompanied by Brian Eno who, while the bearer of an interesting piece of music, predictably misses the mark thematically, never fully demonstrating why the descent of a plague of flies would stir in him an air of chilled ambience.
And it’s in no way the quality of material that drags
Plague Songs down- each track would fit perfectly well on one of their composer’s albums- but the fact that it’s all so
predictable. I appreciate that the artists were given the freedom to compose as they wished, but in almost every case the subject, the musician’s prescribed plague, seems to be forced into the musician’s own preferred themes rather than the musician using the opportunity to deviate from their own style- hence Mr. Eno’s bizarrely inappropriate reaction to the plague of flies. Even Rufus Wainwright, one of the most talented songwriters in modern music, hasn’t bent much from his own style despite a typically beautiful vocal and imaginative arrangement.
There are three real standout tracks on the album: up-and-coming London MC Klashnekoff’s debut single ‘It’s Murda’ ranks among the best singles the UK grime scene has produced, and with ‘Blood’ he may just have taken it a step further. Juxtaposing the biblical plague of blood for the plague of violence within his own community, ‘Blood’ is shocking and atmospheric, with a sense of urgency and disorder that perfectly compliments the subject matter. Klash’ raps with quick, smooth flow and virtuosity, cycling through a number of tones and accents amid pulsating DIY beats and classical piano flourishes. Even the chorus is infectious, and wonderfully phrased:
”Our father, who art in heaven / Hallowed be thy name / Thy kingdom is in flames / This sick feeling of pain / Your wisdom is in vain / ‘Cos the road is all the same / Everywhere is bloodstains.”
Stephin Merritt, too, draws implicit parallels between the plague of lice and some slightly more current infections and parasites:
“Fleas, fleas, STDs / All of Egypt on her knees / Lice, lice in paradise: a necessary heresy” Thankfully the Killers’ transformation into a Jack Kerouac cover band marked the end of synth pop in the mainstream (again), but ‘Lice’ is still a nice reminder of just how bad the Bravery were. And did I mention it’s better than ‘Somebody Told Me’? Lastly, Cody ChesnuTT’s ‘Boils’ is a significant development from his excellent homemade debut
The Headphone Masterpiece, but it seems the luxury of a Stax-style horn section can only add to his appeal. It’s certainly miles ahead of anything John Legend’s doing.
Honourable mentions are also forthcoming for Scott Walker, whose ‘Darkness’ is every bit as unique and compelling as you’d expect, contrasting his conservative croon with piercing, bat-like chorus vocals, and Imogen Heap, who actually went to the British Library to learn about locusts and track down samples of the insects with which to create the beats for her track ‘Glittering Clouds.’ But overall, as an album,
Plague Songs is completely inconsistent stylistically, thematically and tonally; it’s inconsistent in everything (it seems) except quality, and even then it’s never great for too long. Nevertheless, as an experiment it definitely led to some pretty interesting results, and some damn decent tunes to follow.
Plague Songs is available in the UK now through 4AD, and is released November 21 in the US via Beggar’s Banquet.
http://www.4ad.com
http://www.artangel.org.uk/
