Description
Who is the Sender? is an album by the British veteran folk singer and songwriter Bill Fay, released on Dead Oceans Records in February 2015.
Bill Fay took four decades to follow up his eponymous debut and 1971’s Time of the Last Persecution with 2012’s acclaimed Life Is People. In the meantime, his work was championed by the likes of Wilco and Nick Cave. Fay is now in his 70s, and his beautifully hymnal fourth studio album contains sublime, heartfelt ruminations on nature and the world from someone who knows his time is running out. The stunning «War Machine» quietly but angrily compares humanity with a bird of prey – “We all kill in ways that he doesn’t, as we pay our taxes to the war machine” – although «Order of the Day» channels antiwar sentiments to more positive, uplifting effect. Throughout, the Londoner’s craft and enduring fascination with music itself is rather humbling. “There’s a melody at the heart of me,” he sings in the lovely «How Little». The album’s title asks an eternal question: if music is a gift, “who is the sender? I want to say, ‘Thank you.’” [Dave Simpson, The Guardian, April 2015]
London-based singer/songwriter and pianist Bill Fay recorded two unsuccessful albums in the ’60s and ’70s and, following years of obscurity that resulted in so-called cult status and a re-emergence in 2012, has released his second album for the Dead Oceans label. The overall feel of Fay’s latest work is one of contemplation and reflection with the backdrop of Fay’s unfussy piano playing, an unassuming band and the wash of strings arranged by Ian Burdge help to maintain that mood. Fay often uses the animal kingdom as his starting point for his songs – the opener «The Geese Are Flying Westward» leads on to special mentions for critters such as bees, hedgehogs, squirrels and fishes (sic) – before highlighting the damage caused by man and then offering up some measured hope that the world will change for the better. Fay uses this formula for a large chunk of proceedings making this something of a concept album in the sense that it contains a recurring theme and overall sound. Fay’s gentle vocal delivery – much of the time whispered and set around the lower echelons of his vocal range – generally fits the feel of his songs but some of the tracks beg for a verse or two to be taken up an octave to heighten the tension. The likes of «Order Of The Day» and «Bring It On Lord» bring a Christian theme to the fore whilst «The Freedom To Read» – a eulogy to martyred Bible translator William Tyndale – is a highlight. [Lins Honeyman, Cross Rhythms, July 2015]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/who-is-the-sender/935832840)
CD tracklist:
01. The Geese Are Flying Westward – 2:57
02. War Machine – 4:11
03. How Little – 6:02
04. Underneath the Sun – 5:39
05. Something Else Ahead – 3:11
06. Order of the Day – 3:38
07. Who Is the Sender? – 4:55
08. The Freedom to Read – 4:11
09. Bring It on Lord – 3:51
10. A Page Incomplete – 3:10
11. A Frail and Broken One – 4:28
12. World of Life – 5:02
13. I Hear You Calling (Studio Reunion) – 3:31
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