Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Looking Back At The World from a position of relative safety is one where can afford the luxury of truth, that without the need for rose tinted glasses or the facility to sugarcoat the expressions, we see a world where the differences we endeavour to make are colossal; not always because of the impact on the whole planet, but on an individual, a sudden richness that glows brightly and which if seen from the edge of the universe, if a soul could shine so bright, would be revealing and engaging.
The Gentle Spring’s debut album, Looking Back At The World, is one that ushers in a phoenix like renewal, a chance for a second embrace of enthralling the music loving public and from the history of pop where Michael Hiscock engaged and occupied the minds of the fans with the illustrious Field Mice, to now join forces with Emilie Guillaumont and Jérémie Orsel and strike gold with the same measured sensitivity and compassion with the music, lyrics, and home spun groove of positive attitude is to feel a sheer warmth and a kindness that only art can deliver.
The intensity and depth of the music is exemplified as tracks such as Untouched, The Girl Who Ran Away, the tantalising The Ashes, the flowing and desperately human act of self-understanding of I Can’t Have You As A Friend, The Reason Why You Lie, and the album title track of Looking Back At The World all quickly assert themselves in a manner of expressed desire, not only to be heard, but to register on the empathy of the listener, to reach into perhaps a closed off space where emotions have been disavowed but are willing to reawaken with the right persuasion and meaning.
To see through the lens of sensitivity is behold the world for all its faults, and all its triumphs, the beauty and the pain go hand in hand and the elegance of balance; and that is exactly how The Gentle Spring announce themselves to the public, with stability, but with defiant emotion weaved into the music’s tapestry.
Looking Back At The World is a delight of music, it will have the listener embracing the possible and regarding the past as not left behind but rather a companion on the latest adventure. Gratifying, enjoyable, rewarding; The Gentle Spring’s belief is ever flowing.
Ian D. Hall