Good Weather For An Airstrike – Signals
Good Weather For An Airstrike is the project of Winchester based guitarist Tom Honey, although it has to be said there ain’t a great deal of guitar on it. Signals is predominantly a set of ambient pieces, some drone-based such as the mordant bass tones of ‘Beside Me Today’, but others with more intricate instrumentation – even live drums on the short ‘A Last Farewell and We Shall Run’.
The title track has a melody played by something that sounds like a glass harmonica over a looped background of fizz and chimes. It’s a reflective, but captivating little piece. Opener ‘Hand in Hand Into the Ocean Blue’ sounds like it took less long to compose than it took to type, but it’s the only throwaway piece. The real stars of the show are the two versions of ‘We Fall Back Into The Ocean’ which are both gorgeous. Imagine a cross between Brian Eno’s Apollo and some of Max Richter’s more reflective work, and you’ll be somewhere there.
Signals‘ genesis lies in Honey trying to compose music to fall asleep to, having suffered from tinnitus-induced insomnia for a while. The music is certainly gentle enough for slumber, but I wouldn’t want to doze off before the final track! The EP / mini LP (take your pick) is available as a free download from the Sonic Reverie website
For more from Dez please read his blog Music Musings & Miscellany