Paul Sadler – The Irrational EP

Paul Sadler of Spires and Haven of Echoes fame is never far away from his next release. This time it’s a four-track project called “The Irrational EP,” which musically sits at the mellow end of Paul’s repertoire. As usual he handles the vocals and guitar (acoustic on this occasion). Accompanying him are Alison Lansdown on cello and Imogen Lyons on violin. Half a dozen guests also make appearances on the first two tracks adding depth to the songs.

This new venture has shades of chamber music but is also reminiscent of his other releases. The idea to record this material came after Paul emerged from the pandemic and started to perform live once more. That was under the name of The Paul Sadler Trio and featured the same instruments as the main ones on this EP.

Four of the guests add their contribution to the opening song. A folk influenced dual harmony between Paul and Helea Gimeno fires the first salvo of ‘Stowaway’. The lyrics are somewhat contradictory, for example “I burn in the river and drown in the fire”, which messes with the mind. It could be inspired by a collection of poetry by Charles Bukowski called ‘Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame’. Which seems paradoxical, describing the feeling of being trapped in seemingly opposing circumstances. Extra backing vocals are provided by Andrew Lavendar of Manchester band Technologist. Fellow Spires man Alex Jolley adds fretless bass, and John Simm keeps time on the drums. Style wise it sits somewhere between folk and progressive rock, but with the unmistakable stamp of Mr Sadler.

The bass and drums also feature in ‘A Song of Everything and Nothing’ with backing vocals this time from Emily Mercer. Completing the ensemble for this one is Paul’s Haven of Echoes fellow partner in crime Andreas Hack on keyboards. It’s Paul and Andreas that start the song with voice and piano to be joined shortly by the strings then drums and bass. As it builds it subtly merges into a lively 3/4-time signature that conjures up an image of dancers performing a waltz. To say this is the heaviest track of the four might give the wrong impression. None of it is particularly heavy, so I’ll settle for the least mellow.

There are no guests on the last two tracks, just the guitar, violin, cello and Paul’s voice. As a result, the songs are mellower than the first two. The luscious combination of all the strings working in harmony is very pleasant. The lyrics also highlight what a fine wordsmith Paul is. In ‘A Passing’ we have “Never to speak of the creature beneath, of this mockery of existence benign”. Also in that song, the line “May your beauty transcend, as we dance on the grave of our youth”.

To conclude this short but sublime musical experience, Paul reveals the title song ‘Irrational’. In another beautiful, gentle number, he asks the question “Is this irrational?”. Increasingly I am finding a lot of things in the world to be just that these days. Thankfully one thing that remains reliable is a constant stream of excellent releases by rock and metal artists around the world. It goes without saying, that includes this fellow of course.

This man never fails to impress with his musicality. Whether it be extreme or melodic and everything in-between, it is always accomplished and professional. I am sure some of you are hoping for a resurgence of Spires like I am. For now though, whatever he chooses to compose is just fine by me, because the quality is guaranteed. Who knows what will be next? Whatever it is, it’s bound to be worth waiting for.

Track-List:

1. Stowaway
2. A Song of Everything and Nothing
3. A Passing
4. Irrational