Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Hammill, Peter
Label: Charisma Records
Released: 1978
Running time: 45:15
Rating: 4.5/5
Peter Hammill is a one-of-a-kind musical artist who, as a solo performer alone, put out a whole galaxy of top-notch, experimental and provocative progressive rock albums, never mind his contribution to the legendary Van Der Graaf Generator. This singular singer, poet, guitarist, pianist, writer and amateur scientist was always a workaholic in heart and soul, fully devoted to the art of music, so the first time work with the mother band went quiet, he got on with building his solo career, in which he has released more than thirty studio albums to date.
»The Future Now« came out right after the third breakup of Van Der Graaf Generator, so it’s no surprise that its sonic structure resembles the cult but often overlooked Van Der Graaf album »The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome« (1977). That means it’s marked by a fusion of symphonic prog rock built on strings and winds, noisy avant-garde sections and early new wave. Interestingly, this was Hammill’s first record without his longtime partner in crime, VDGG drummer Guy Evans. The album was recorded entirely without drums, and it’s not the least bit distracting. Peter, who as usual played all the piano arrangements and guitar parts, got help from longtime VDGG saxophonist and flutist David Jackson and violinist Graham Smith, a member of the last VDGG lineup from the late seventies.
»The Future Now« holds twelve songs, mostly shorter than what fans are usually used to from the versatile Hammill, who was at an important turning point in life at the time, a freshly minted thirty-year-old. That is symbolized both by the album title and by its bizarrely funny cover, on which the legendary singer has one half of his face covered in thick beard and the other half smooth-shaven. This confrontation with the irrevocable end of the last days of late adolescence, for a highly intelligent and well-read artist who was already more mature in his teens than most people today are at fifty, is symbolized by the opener »Pushing Thirty«. It has a glam rock pulse that would have appealed to Peter’s old friend and admirer David Bowie too. The vocal thunderer keeps switching between a broad-chested, uniquely his own vocal range and plain-spoken narration. Jackson’s biting sax passages blend nicely throughout with the bouncy piano tempo.
»The Second Hand« is, by contrast, a rhythmically rather ‘sleepy’ piece whose dynamics are kneaded by witty sax interjections and Peter’s boundless vocal capriciousness. »Trappings« is an acoustic ballad with a dark ambience and a psychological lyric about the pitfalls of too much success and fame. Dissonant harmonies and a drunken guitar solo deliver a pleasantly adventurous surprise. The enigmatic »The Mousetrap (Caught In)« has a distinct VDGG atmospheric flavor, with its melancholic-sacral melody on piano and harmonica. »Energy Vampires«, whose lyrics are dedicated to all those leeches of positive energy who surround us in life and want only some material benefit out of us, is a short but dramatic piece with a pronounced avant-garde streak, thanks to the frenzied sax passages and Hammill’s paranoid-tinged vocal outbursts.
The ballad »If I Could« is another melancholic heart-tugger, seasoned with acoustic guitar, impressive string parts on violin and Peter’s pleasant vocal intonation. The sacral mood pairs nicely with the love lyric, which, by the way, has always been a genuine rarity in Hammill’s career. The epic title track easily earns the crown of best piece on the album, as it’s steeped in a genuine, dark VDGG atmosphere and an exceptional vocal performance from Peter. Majestic symphonic arrangements on piano and fragmented guitar passages are topped off with an epic chorus that pulls back the curtain on a dystopian future, which places this achievement among the eternal progressive rock classics.
On »Still in the Dark«, the eternal tailor of dark atmospheric shades leads us through a gentle piano melody into a lyrical critique of human obtuseness. »Mediaeval« is, true to its name, marked by sacral harmonies. It’s a moment of nostalgia for Hammill, who took his first singing steps as a member of a Jesuit choir, however odd that may sound for this eternal critic of religious institutions. »A Motor-Bike in Afrika« is a perfect avant-garde experiment with distorted, monotone guitar effects and a dissonant vocal performance. »The Cut« is crowned with an anxious, almost bleak melody on acoustic guitar, apocalyptic vocals and occasional distorted bursts of electric guitar. The closing »Palinurus (Cast Away)« refers to a figure from Roman mythology, specifically the helmsman of Aeneas’s ship, who was owed a proper burial after his death. Dante Alighieri later mentions him in his Purgatory as a suffering soul, because his bones were never buried. The dark ambience is marked by the sound of harmonica, dramatic piano arrangements and a pompous vocal performance from the ‘doctor of language’.
»The Future Now« is experimental from head to toe, packed with unexpected atmospheric twists. At the same time, it once again stands as a total one-off next to the master’s earlier studio gems. In the middle of an important transitional period, Hammill pushed his reputation as an eternal musical and lyrical adventurer as far as it would go and created yet another album that belongs among the elite of his best solo achievements.
Lineup
Peter Hammill – vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica
Graham Smith – violin
David Jackson – saxophone
Production
Peter Hammill
Track list
1. Pushing Thirty
2. The Second Hand
3. Trappings
4. The Mousetrap (Caught In)
5. Energy Vampires
6. If I Could
7. The Future Now
8. Still In The Dark
9. Mediaevil
10. A Motor-Bike In Africa
11. The Cut
12. Palinurus (Castaway)
