▄▄ [ INFORMATION ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ ARTIST: Conor Mason █
█ TITLE: Standstill █
█ LABEL: Armellodie █
█ GENRE: Pop-Folk █
█ BITRATE: 241kbps avg █
█ PLAYTIME: 0h 38min total █
█ RELEASE DATE: 2012-00-00 █
█ RIP DATE: 2012-03-21 █
█ URL: █
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▄▄ [ TRACKLIST ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
█ █
█ 01. Misunderstood 4:10 █
█ 02. Lights 3:59 █
█ 03. Words 4:31 █
█ 04. Standstill 3:23 █
█ 05. Out Of The Blue 3:42 █
█ 06. AM 3:46 █
█ 07. Sundown 2:39 █
█ 08. Last To Leave 3:22 █
█ 09. In The Doorway 3:47 █
█ 10. A Picture Of Farewell 4:58 █
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▄▄ [ NOTES ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
█ █
█ Armellodie Records proudly presents the delectable talents of Conor █
█ Mason with his new album, Standstill released on Monday 19th March 2012. █
█ █
█ Born and raised in the old walled city on the banks of the River Foyle, █
█ Conor Mason has been brought up swimming in musical heritage with both █
█ his parents heavily involved in local choirs and music jamborees in his █
█ beloved hometown of Derry, N. Ireland. █
█ █
█ ôMy da ran a choir (as his father did before him) and they used to █
█ rehearse in our home, my ma sang in the choir too and I used to listen █
█ in from the next room. Then around the age of 8, after my parents heard █
█ me playing by ear the music of an Irish mass my da had written, they █
█ dutifully sent me off for classical piano lessons. They were both music █
█ lovers, to the extent that even the small boat my da would take me and █
█ my brothers out fishing in was called äIolanthe?, named after the █
█ Gilbert and Sullivan Opera.ö █
█ █
█ Standstill is in fact the third album from the Irish songwriter, with █
█ two previous offerings, Let It Unfold (2007) and When ItÆs Over (2009) █
█ suitably home-recorded and self-distributed through cyberspace, earning █
█ Mason a solid reputation in his native land with a host of television █
█ and radio support from BBC Northern Ireland. Standstill retains the █
█ mellow, home-grown, quality perfected on those records albeit with some █
█ new found scope, inherently familiar whilst always remaining fresh and █
█ extrinsic. █
█ █
█ When the opening bars of äMisunderstoodÆ complete with muted trumpets █
█ and unhurried acoustic strumming make way for the driving rhythm and █
█ rumbling piano, there?s a glowing immediacy before the first lines leave █
█ Mason?s lips, ômade more sense, behind closed eyes, we were making plans █
█ and not taking adviceö, sang in an unashamedly colourful yet seductively █
█ subtle brogue, the song boasts an alluring punch-the-air quality without █
█ ever sounding forced. █
█ █
█ æLightsÆ reinforces this plaintive but hopeful raison d?Ωtre, and on █
█ äWordsÆ, Mason?s gorgeously nuanced vocals, fragile but beautifully █
█ phrased, are particularly well served by the production, sitting right █
█ in the centre of the mix, every subtle inflection clear to the listener. █
█ █
█ ôStandstill represents the big race up the hill of self-actualisation, █
█ some get to the top no sweat and some get so far and plateau, others are █
█ constantly going back down to begin the climb againö █
█ █
█ With a crisp vision of beautifully arranged dynamic landscapes Mason █
█ excels on the album?s sparse title track û an acoustic version of which █
█ is available on vinyl from Never Records û lending a clarity to which █
█ his vocal hooks are delivered with sweet sincerity. He floats over █
█ simple and compelling melodies, intricate instrumentation and whimsical, █
█ but never trite choruses with an ease bordering on ambivalence. █
█ █
█ It?s with this gentility that Mason comes over so charmingly genuine as █
█ on the harmonica led, äOut of the BlueÆ, an ode in itself to sincerity █
█ and what it means to people (ôsomewhere between the head and the █
█ heartache sincerity hides / somewhere between the heart and the headache █
█ sincerity hidesö), and the breezy pace of ä5AMÆ where swirling █
█ synthesizers enter into the fray and delicate brass enrich the sonic █
█ template, complimenting Mason?s mellifluous vocal. █
█ █
█ Lush flowing melodies continue to take flight on the introspective █
█ lullaby-like äSundownÆ and the startling äLast To LeaveÆ with it?s █
█ minimal but wonderfully transcendent sound leaving plenty of room for a █
█ melody so natural sounding, it glides along with a touch of class. █
█ █
█ Understated and refined Standstill doesn?t reveal all of its treasures █
█ at once, the songs augmented with tastefully layered instrumentation and █
█ playful, inconspicuous production. Unperturbed it plays out in no rush, █
█ possessing a relaxed, pastoral feel comparative to that of The Shins or █
█ Badly Drawn Boy?s finest work. █
█ █
█ The final two songs, the lilting waltz of æIn The DoorwayÆ and the █
█ contemplative æA Picture of FarewellÆ reiterate the themes that permeate █
█ the record. That of the cyclic humdrum that hypnotises so many, and the █
█ niggling insecurities and attachments û be it a lover, a family, a town █
█ or a job û that so often thwart people from seizing the day. █
█ █
█ ôAll this stillness, and all this steadiness, has left you here aloneö, █
█ he sings before offering up some hope with the closing lines, ônow we █
█ set out in search of a sign / we set out in search of an explanationö as █
█ the gorgeous harmonica coda-line takes over, the record befits it?s █
█ moniker and comes to a standstill, downbeat but affectionately █
█ uplifting. █
█ █
█ It may seem somewhat foolish to be peddling a press release for an █
█ artist that proclaims, ôI don?t need a stamp of approval from anyone, █
█ you can take it or leave itö, as Conor Mason does on opener █
█ äMisunderstood?. Yet despite this strident declaration, the quality and █
█ warmth of Mason?s voice and the obvious care taken in his song-writing █
█ serve only as a counter to his claim, instead revealing a tunesmith with █
█ a collection of songs so tender that they could turn even the most cold █
█ hearted cynic into a hopeless, desperate romantic. █
█ █
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