For reasons that will become apparent later, this may be Nick Hudson’s last solo album in a while; it is also the final chapter in a trilogy that began with Kanda Teenage Honey and continued with _On The Eve Of Hope _. In many ways, this album finalises several recent chapters, making room for new sonic adventures.
Trees Reign Down, Fire On is described by the man himself as “A Death Album About Life,” essentially a sonic discussion about the cycles of renewal, how one thing must end to allow another to begin, how the decay of one thing is often the catalyst for new growth – again, very apt considering where Nick finds himself creatively today.
But it is a theme that often runs subtly through the songs rather than forcing the point, and we are treated to an eclectic range of subjects and an elegant suite of songs. Songs such as ‘Openshaw Fowler’ that drifts in and then jaunts along telling the tale of a Victorian steam engine’s role in an act of espionage; ‘Panashvidi’‘s harpsichord-infused soundscapes; the finessed folk of ‘Old White Men’, a musing on the entitled attitudes of a sector of society who, even with their privileged position, are still unhappy with… well… everything.
‘Tarndiving’ is a suitably chaotic and often wonderfully discordant creation, a perfect vehicle for the modern-mythological story of finding a spirit lover in a crystal city below the waters of a Welsh lake. And Nick saves the most poignant piece till last: ‘Lawrence, Anyways’, a hazy, heady, heart-aching hymn that blends tragedy and beauty, and that the inquiring-minded listener will come away from knowing more about both filmmaker Xavier Dolan and St Lawrence than when the song started.
Not only a great album, one filled with Hudson’s usual uniqueness and artistry, a genre-free zone of musical adventure and lyrical education, but also the perfect way to pause his solo path. As always, he leaves the listener wanting more, and there will be, but the more will take a slightly different form… which makes you want more, even more!
