Crossing the River

Death
Grand Salvo
Spunk, 2008
4.5 stars

Death, in my best interpretation, is the story of a doomed inter-species love triangle, featuring a bear, a bird, a rabbit, a rat and a man. It may look stupid on paper, but in the hands of Grand Salvo, Melbourne's Paddy Mann, it makes for a truly touching fable, and a unique and stunning album. Mann has assembled a strong cast of friends and family to breath life into his imaginings, including Zoe Randell on supporting vocals (album highlight I Am Dead is on par with the best tracks on Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's The Letting Go for great female accompaniment) and dad Spencer (thank you anonymous reader) narrating the changes in season. The orchestration is rich, cinematic and, if you let it, will put you right there in the forest with the creatures. I haven't enjoyed storytelling this much since the ABC stopped airing Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden in the eighties - who needs a TV anyway when you've got an active imagination.

Artwork: A

Published in mX, Thursday March 20, 2008