The Proper Ornaments – Wooden Head

The Proper Ornaments, are primarily made up of Veronica Falls’ guitarist James Hoare and Argentine singer-songwriter Max Claps. They returned in 2014 to deliver their second album ‘Wooden Head’. It may not have been the most exciting of releases but it should be a staple part of everyone’s record collection and here’s why.

For the most part, ‘Wooden Head’ combines Roger McGuinn’s Byrds jingle jangle and Andy Bell’s shoegazery in Ride. The album opener, ‘Gone’, is a slower and gentler Mary Chain number which, rather than sounding like a drug fuelled night out, acts more like post-comedown tonic and the realisation of what the protagonist needs to do to succeed.

‘Ruby’ merges Mark Gardener-esque vocals with some spritely acoustic guitars on this track. To begin with it lightens the mood but, the use of the same riff casually builds a suspense which suggests all is not right.

There are some deviations from the Bell and McGuinn school of guitar playing on ‘Now I Understand’ and ‘Always There’. ‘Now I Understand’ has a catchy and repetitive guitar riff which borrows from Hoare’s Veronica Falls via David Tattersall’s Wave Pictures. ‘Always There’ could have been lifted from a number of great records released by Sub Pop in the past decade with its brooding seaside tones. ‘Step Into The Cold’ meanwhile, ends with a blast from the guitar worthy of Stephen Stills’ Manassas era.

None of these tracks are a big shift in direction but they do allow the introspective shoegaze numbers to breathe and prevent the album from being monotonous.

For TT, the highlight of this collection is ‘Stereolab’. Sonically, it slots in with the rest of album, but the vocals are what make it special. The harmonies are spot on throughout and the key change in on the line ‘I’m going out with the tide’ is sumptuous.

The dad of TT’s editor, used to spend Sundays playing vinyl and relaxing at home. We urge you to do the same with this record. It doesn’t have the energy to make you want to get up and change the world but it does have the power and beauty to make you sit and contemplate it for a while.

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