According to prevailing historical discourse, the Enlightenment threw cold water on the smouldering fire of religious dogma and pagan superstition. Buoyed by scientific analysis and rational thought, western society convinced itself that such traditions as reading chicken entrails should only be the subject of derision. In the field of the arts, appreciation is ultimately subjective, and arguably no more robust than observing patterns of tealeaves.
In saying that, what does The Tealeaves’ new album have to offer the world? Plenty, it must be said. A Poison Tree glistens with the impressive beauty of Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac; Like A Storm is haunting, quiet and enthralling. You can sit back and bask in the glory of Run Together and think of a place when folk and Californian rock came together and made mad passionate love together; Earth Was Never Ours has a message to tell, one that’s sadly still unknown to the dominant culture.
From there, there’s the Greenwich Village coffee house folk of Wake Me When It’s Over, all earnest rhetoric and turtle-necked sweaters; Anybody Out There could be a Pete Seeger plea for political awareness, if only somebody would listen. On Away From You, the melodies are uplifting, even if the mood is ambivalent – is it hope, or is it despair? The album ends with Warm Wood, Cold Heart – again, there’s a lingering sense of melancholy, as if the problems of the world are on the cusp of repair, or perennial injury. And in that delicate balance exists the objective attraction of The Tealeaves.
BY PATRICK EMERY
Best Track: A Poison Tree
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: FLEETWOOD MAC, CAT STEVENS, SIMON AND GARFUNKLE
In A Word: Elegant.
