Cellarscape - Live at Siren FM: The 2011 Acoustic Session (self-released)

I thought I recognized the name. Having fallen in love with Aptøsrs debut album, Elders, a brilliantly dynamic, hugely cinematic, instrumental, soundscaping album, seeing the name of the man behind it, Paul Terry, associated with another musical project really piqued my interest. And then some.

If Aptøsrs is the sound of where he is now, this latest release, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of Paul Terry’s own indie label SkyBabyRecords, is the sound of his earliest days as a live acoustic solo performer. Having found the original two-microphone recordings of a formative radio session as Cellarscape on an old laptop, the logical thing to do was to brush the tapes up and put them out for public consumption.

Sitting at the opposite end of the spectrum from Aptøsrs, this is the sound of one man – a voice and a guitar – pushing through more traditional sonic territory. And, of course, such a format sinks or swims, more than anything else, on the strength of the songs. If we take it as read that Paul Terry has a great voice, because trust me, he has, one perfect for this sort of delivery, it is to the songs that we need to turn.

The contemporary market seems inundated with gap-year troubadors who think that they might be the new Nick Drake (nope) or Neil Young (not a hope in hell) but Paul Terry seems happy to be Paul Terry and that in itself is a breathe of fresh air.

“Minor Fractures” sits somewhat akin to that commercial and cultish balance that David Gray turned to his advantage so well. Here, the same accessibility is on display, the same pop-awareness, and a similar finesse and maturity—a great calling card, and tone setter for this four-track session.

“Static” is spacious and atmospheric, bordering the sort of simple elegance of Damien Rice and “Blanket” peels away even more layers of guitar to reveal not only a wonderful vulnerability but also leave space for Terry to showcase just what a fantastic voice he has. Things round off with “You Got the Girl”, a brilliantly direct slice of social commentary, and a busier and more gently anthemic (is that possible) way to round things off.

This is a great suite of music, not just as a historical document and the springboard point of an artist but also as a fantastic set of songs in its own right.

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