{"product_id":"the-moon-and-the-village","title":"The Moon and the Village","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere's a new album from \u003cstrong\u003eNick Garrie\u003c\/strong\u003e coming out and that's something to celebrate. Before we get onto the new one, we need to put things in context and talk a little about the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the final year of the sixties and in the final year of his teens, \u003cstrong\u003eNick Garrie\u003c\/strong\u003e made an album that should be regarded as one of the great classic albums of the decade: \u003cem\u003eThe Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas\u003c\/em\u003e. The fact that it is not more widely known or more universally recognized as one of the classics of the era is not down to the quality of the product but rather to a series of unfortunate events (that's another story).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt's packed full of smart, romantic, melodious baroque-pop storytelling songs with killer string and woodwind arrangements. After having disappeared for decades, copies of the album started to pop up for sale online at very high prices. In 2005, \u003cem\u003eStanislas\u003c\/em\u003e was reissued, the word of mouth about how great it was soon spread and a new generation of \u003cstrong\u003eNick Garrie\u003c\/strong\u003e fans began to emerge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMusicians including Teenage Fanclub, Wilco, Camera Obscura, The Trembling Bells, Ladybug Transistor, and BMX Bandits (of course) were among those declaring themselves as fans. In 2009, I was asked to help produce a new \u003cstrong\u003eNick Garrie\u003c\/strong\u003e album, \u003cem\u003e49 Arlington Gardens\u003c\/em\u003e, and the world could hear that none of Nick's talents had diminished. Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub who performed on the album declared to me during the sessions, \"Nick's the real deal. He can really do it. Brilliant songs and what a voice.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBack to 2017 and now there is another new album by \u003cstrong\u003eNick Garrie\u003c\/strong\u003e. Let me assure you straight away, it's a thing of great and rare beauty. It's still very much the same \u003cstrong\u003eNick Garrie\u003c\/strong\u003e who made that incredible 1969 debut and the 2009 album too, but this time round it's \u003cstrong\u003eNick Garrie\u003c\/strong\u003e in a more reflective mood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe songs are as strong as ever but have a directness and fragility about them. The sonic settings created by Gary Olson and a supporting cast of players match the tenderness of the storytelling in \u003cstrong\u003eNick\u003c\/strong\u003e's songs. The arrangements are from the school of less is more. Nothing is screaming out for attention here but instead every sound perfectly plays its part in bringing the stories in the songs to life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNick\u003c\/strong\u003e sings about a lost diary and about losing one's way on the album's opener \"\u003cem\u003eLois' Diary\u003c\/em\u003e.\" This track, like others on the album, has a beautiful sadness about it. There's no artificial earnestness or overstatement, it's all perfectly pitched.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the album's most affecting tracks is its most stripped back: \"\u003cem\u003eGot You On My Mind\u003c\/em\u003e.\" It's just \u003cstrong\u003eNick\u003c\/strong\u003e's voice and a harp. The intimacy and warmth of the album feel like the perfect antidote to the in-your-face and often ugly nature of modern life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a gentle album that soothes the soul and warms the heart. When \u003cstrong\u003eNick\u003c\/strong\u003e sings \"I'm On Your Side,\" you believe him and you feel a connection being made with the singer as you listen. I'm grateful to have \u003cstrong\u003eNick\u003c\/strong\u003e and his music on my side and I'm grateful to have such a wonderful new album by him - Duglas T Stewart, Summer 2017.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tapete","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50471447265611,"sku":"1023633","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50471447396683,"sku":"1023632","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1e06486b-e7b6-4bd9-85d8-e198f39b09d8_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727403685","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/products\/the-moon-and-the-village","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}