Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are two spheres of appreciation in which an artist always knows they have struck a chord with the audience, the wild jubilation of the ecstatic, the raucous noise that greets the beginning and the finale of a song as if the world was ending and the only way to commemorate it is with wolf-whistles and weirdly loud, high pitched yells in which to burst the ear drums of those around you and claim that it does no harm. There is also the simpler, more profound Hush of wide eyed contemplation and understanding of delighted, but sober, euphoria, the prelude of true gratitude before the heartfelt and meaningful applause.

It is to the Hush and the sincere that more often is seen as being an indicator of deep reflection in this modern age of constant shouting and unseemly waving of tongues, an act of solitude perhaps but nonetheless important to get across as a point, imperative to use as a principal of harmony and one that the trio of Catriona Sutherland, Iain-Gordon Macfarlane and Robert McDonald combine in the artistically beautiful Birichen; a Hush delivered, an admiration that comes with a smile and deep-rooted pleasure.

The five strong song E.P of Hush. is a significant use of the raw power that emanates freely from the trio, the vocals of Ms. Sutherland find a way to seep into the hardest of ignorant souls, and with the musical prowess afforded by the two musicians at her side, the feeling of safety, of being cared for in uncertain times is one not to be dismissed.

It is in the holding of each precious moment that we find ways to exist, the exhilaration is fleeting, it is in the search for contentment that true acceptance of ourselves is plainly observed, and in songs such as Scarlet Town, Smile in Your Sleep and the urgent poignancy that surrounds L.A. Freeway, Birichen rises like an unexpected mountain out of the gloom and mist of flatland acceptance.

Sometimes you have to be quiet to understand what is coming next, not everything in life requires the self-loading shouts of the self-obsessed, all that is essential is a kind of Hush.

Ian D. Hall