Album Review: Carol Hodge - “The Crippling Space Between”

 


We reviewed sometime Steve Ignorant, Ryan Hamilton and Ginger Wildheart collaborator Carol Hodge's sophomore album Savage Purge in the early days of this webzine (link here) and she's followed up with her third in an impressively quick turnaround time. And any worries that this might have had a detrimental effect on the material involved are quickly assuaged when opener The Moan Of A Thousand Years kicks into gear with a well placed diatribe against the British "mustn't grumble" mentality.

The light and shade of Hodge's output are well represented by the second and third songs - Twenty Miles Up is all about looking back at a bad relationship with the gift of distance and time and realising that ending it was probably the best thing you could have done. By contrast, the stark Curtain To Fall takes a look at the crippled state of the live music industry in the wake of Covid and worries for its future. The hypnotic So Much For Summertime similarly takes a look at the sheer headfuck that was the lockdown and the angular Everything Here Is A Joke examines the frustration that the mundanity of everyday life can cause if you're not careful.

Best Thing In This Town is a beautiful stripped-down ode to a deceased loved one which you may well find yourself suddenly having something in your eye while listening to. After that, the abrupt anger of This with its heart attack drums serves as a sudden jolt to the system before the defiant Saviour Ship which is an uplifting call to arms to be the master of your own destiny. The synth-led Scream Of The Sea keeps up the nautical theme with its theme of trying to push forwards through everyday frustration leaving the Lennonesque Along For The Ride (which seems to be about the fickle nature of the music business) and the gentle An Eye For An Eye to bring things to a close.

Similar to its predecessor, The Crippling Space Between is a fine testament to Carol's ability as both a musician and a songwriter. By turns angry and hopeful, optimstic and despairing, it runs the gauntlet of emotions that all of us have felt during the trauma of the last 18 months or so. Hodge may remain one of the UK music scene's best kept secrets but on this evidence, it's really time that someone changed that - this album definitely deserves to take her to a wider audience. Well worth your investigation.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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