He claims to have been rapping before primary school, a hip-hop toddler presumably smothered with Fisher Price bling and the beginnings of the full and rather comprehensive beard he currently sports. Looking like a youthful hermit with full access to shower facilities, Barrowclough presents here his first solo album, after two critically acclaimed releases as part of the outfit Michaelis Constant. His ambition is to concoct an album that is both subtle and arresting, a musical collage as a canvass on which to paint his depiction of life.

Setting out his stall from the opening track ‘Reverence’, he declares what underpins his existence, a passionate rap of faith and confidence of his belief in God, purely from a personal perspective rather than a sermonising oration. This is followed up in ‘Climb’, a building story of failed opportunities and the rigours of life - “unexpected and finally merciless, then you’ll find the way you spent your time was worthless”. The vocal is always the main form of expression, but on ‘Ensemble Piece’ the music is lifted with echoing chimes and spatters of keyboard with a slightly bitter rap about the seasonality of friendship. Amusing, yet thought-provoking, this is a message to the Facebook generation and the standout track on this LP.

By and large, the rap here is often very whimsical. ‘Superbarrowclough’, with its thumping bass and old school tempo contains a very tongue in cheek vocal, not necessarily to be taken seriously. As is I hope ‘In defence of the war on terror (and facial hair)’ where he sends a message of support to Bush and Blair, for the simple reason that terrorists are giving beards an unwelcome bad reputation. However true this may be, and no matter how amusing his discourse on whiskers is to listen to, these more comical songs do distract from the message of the more serious numbers.

Particularly when the stronger songs are so good. ‘The Road Away from Home’ is excellent, an engaging lyrical tale swept along with an inventive backing of violin and cello. ‘The Resurrector’ is a strong finisher, with a slower pace and an oppressive touch. A lot of Barrowclough’s character comes out in this album, and he sounds like a very interesting fellow indeed. The trouble is, this has given the album a rather bi-polar atmosphere, outwardly humorous at times and introspective at others. It’s a strong release, but maybe could have benefited from a little extra focus conceptually.
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Life on the Ground is available to buy from Zang Productions

Barrowclough on MySpace

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