Broken By Whispers marks the third (and first domestic) release by Robert Wratten's Trembling Blue Stars. The record is not only predictably gorgeous--TBS discs regularly inspire music writers to reach for uncommon levels of praise--it continues the painful (and public) love affair between Wratten and Annemari Davies, the vocalist in Wratten's criminally underappreciated former group the Field Mice.
The Brits have a special acumen for reveling in love and wallowing in despair (are they that much different?) and, as of late, Wratten has been doing some world-class wallowing. The upside (at least for listeners) is that TBS material documents the flotsam from their relationship in shimmering, Brit-pop fashion--and that, to pour salt in the wound, Davies continues to sing on his records. This time around, there's a bit of hope (or at least resolution) in songs like "She Just Couldn't Stay," "Sleep," and the gentle "Sometimes I Still Feel The Bruise," written as a post-relationship letter in a style reminiscent of Aussie Paul Kelly. Ironically, the chorus is bolstered by Davies, whose voice is an instrument so effective it becomes almost invisible. The crisp acoustic rhythms are punctuated with the expected shimmering guitars as well as pastoral cellos, organ, and, in "Back To You," carefully applied random noise. If Wratten wasn't able to communicate the peaks and valleys of his emotions on every imaginable level, his all-consuming melodrama might be comedic. While this trait--inescapable for Celts and nearly unknown in the U.S.--has made for some tragic tales, it's also inspired some of the U.K.'s most timeless music.
All recordings written by R. Wratten, courtesy of Sub Pop Records and Copyright Control.
