Neil Gaiman & FourPlay String Quartet - "Signs of Life"

Non-standard faire, but it's Neil FUCKING Gaiman

Every time this album starts, I have to look around cause I think one of my cats has gotten into something, then I realize it’s too rhythmic for a cat, so I try to figure out which neighbor is doing what…then I realize it’s a clock ticking in my ear as the opening for this album’s opener…“Clock”.

Most of the album is simply Neil reading one of his poems to musical accompaniment. And, I mean, it’s NEIL GAIMAN, so the poetry is phenomenal. And FourPlay’s accompaniment is solid throughout, on each of these tracks.

But then there are also tracks like “Bloody Sunrise” - an exquisite little tongue-mostly-still-in-cheek number about a vampiress’ frustration with trying to find herself a snack.

Then there are the in-betweens, like “Song of the Song”, which features Gaiman reading, then a more musical, sung chorus.

Gaiman doesn’t do much singing, though - the only time he really sings, rather than read rhythmically with pitch-like inflection, is in “The Problem With Saints”, another fun, witty ditty.

FourPlay also gets two tracks to own, with instrumentals on “Neverwhere” and “Oceanic”, the closing track, which are both really good. Except that “Oceanic” ends with screeching strings, a raw, discordant cacophony that kind of sets your teeth on edge. And maybe there’s a point being made with the album’s thematic elements, which align with the title, “Signs of Life”, that life isn’t always pretty. Still, it’s a harsh way to end the final track, and it doesn’t endear it to being a track I want in my regular rotation, pretty as the rest of it is.

The only other issue I take with the album, period, is the almost naive, idealistic take of “Credo” - yes, it would be a better world if everybody adhered to those ideals, but the ‘Paradox of Tolerance’ is a theory with serious merit, and truly dangerous ideas should not be given the room to be perceived as valid from any perspective. That’s exactly why fascism and hate groups are on the rise again.

Anyhow, the album is solid. It isn’t your standard album, as the music isn’t the focus. But it’s good enough for Green.

Rating: Green