Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Piperlain, Independent 2021.
Back in 2017 I reviewed Piperlain’s album Mother Mourned which was a concept album inspired by the experiences of two people growing up as carers for their mothers who were suffering from serious illness.
It was one of the most emotionally intense releases I have received as a reviewer and I was surprised by the quality of the writing and performances.
It was such a powerful album that I wondered how Ben Knight and Rebecca Voorn-Knight would follow it up.
Would they head off in a different direction?
Produce something that was lighter and joyful or continue to mine a deeply emotional vein?
Their latest release, a four track EP called Time, suggests that they have embarked on a journey to a brighter future, but an intense emotionality is still ingrained in their DNA.
Ben and Rebecca are still producing a blend of folk, pop and rock genres that is not dissimilar to the territory explored by The Cranberries.
The EP opens with the title track Time which is an up-tempo song that has a 60s catchiness that is infectious.
The track is heralded in by some enthusiastic drumming and a doo.. doo.. doo.. chorus that is a substantial change from their previous album.
Rebecca’s vocal soars over a solid beat and an acoustic guitar chord progression that could be something from The Merseybeats or The Hollies.
It’s a light and breezy opening track and one that seems ready made for the charts.
The following songs, Cruel World, Deceived, and Taken take the listener deeper into a world that has traps and pitfalls that must be avoided.
The musical shift from the light and airy to sombre is underway.
Deceived is a standout track that contains power and drama, it’s huge in its concept and execution and is in many ways the centrepiece of the EP.
Cruel World, Deceived, and Taken are crafted to take the listener on a journey through periods of intense energy and passion to moments of silence and reflection.
The drums of the opening track return for the intro to Taken, the closing cut on the EP, thus bringing us full circle.
There’s possibly a broader palette of sounds on Time than on Mother Mourned and I found myself hearing bits of The Corrs and Cranberries with maybe a touch of Pink Floyd’s dramatics thrown in for good measure.
