An Inbuilt Fault - Partisan
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Sgt. Pepper meets James Wright
Organic | Arty | Real
A well-recorded bongo is nothing sort of an absolute treat in modern music.
No, not a MIDI bongo.
When I first heard the smack of a clammy palm on a drum on this album, every cell of my existence was drawn in. It was like hearing that first Em9 upstroke of 'Breathe' on Dark Side Of The Moon for the first time. My jaw may not have physically dropped, but previously divided my attention between selecting songs for airplay and carrying out my duties as the station chief engineer was now fully absorbed in the music.
"Close shave in Petralona.." he sang.
My eyes moved upward from the transmitter telemetry readings and I held still awaiting the next lyric. I turned my headphones up and sat back. Time stopped. Westerman's sophomore album is vibrant with organic instrumentation, room ambiance, and heart.
"It's not easy to give"
What an opening lyric. Akin to Bob Ross, Westerman effortlessly brushes in the opening track "Give" against its ostensibly antithetical B-Side self-contained within the same album, "Take" - every element of this album presents a nuanced blotting of significance and profundity. As the songs play out, he brilliantly narrates what seems to be an internal conflict & illustrates the all-too-human twilight zone between despair and hope.
The syntax used for the track titles themselves is intriguing and fresh which only further elevates other design and musical choices made on this album. Bonus points for CSI: Petrolina instead of what could have very possibly been (Close Shave In) Petrolena, or -----Petrolena (Close Shave).
The album's opening track is so complex and compelling - led by hopeful harmonies, deliberate melody, and at times haunting strings of sternly simple execution. The drums slam in as if to part the earth itself and make way for a 1,000-pound bass to usher in the rhythm.
And then those strings.
I found myself in a staring contest with the resonance of those strings - deliberate and powerfully dynamic as if to narrate a moment of fight or flight. Except flight isn't an option.
This track doesn't move you forward, instead holds you right in a pocket of time.
"People die waiting
for the lighting to come back
this way"
Fittingly, the opening track, Give, leaves you with no choice but to ---give--- yourself over to the album as the next track opens with air, light, and contrasting higher octave acoustic guitars of a major key.
The snare shuffles in a careful piano lick & Idol;RE-Run goes right to the stars with the gentle coloring of a tuba riding out the intro. Wow.
The kind of artistry and gentle touch displayed in this album is a marvel in 2023 [2024]
The sonic quality of this entire album is an astounding technical achievement. Bold as this statement may initially seem, I stand by it. Having been an on-air presenter on a commercial AAA radio station for over a decade, I've listened to tens of thousands of music submissions. Every day I pick through yellow bubble mailers and sift through emails. Sometimes a handful each day, sometimes 10 sometimes 100 or more. This kind of air, atmosphere, and room ambience and just flat-out ultra-rare in today's production.
This is not to dismiss modern production as many of the songs I review are quite good. But, this is precisely why I dub An Inbuilt Fault a modern technical achievement: the sound of the room. The air. The sound of human hands manipulating the instruments. It's real.
"Taking breaks the heart of love"
"So what, room ambiance in a 2023 album means this record is up there with Sgt. Pepper?"
In a modern sense, yes. There isn't a HINT of direct modern influence in this album - it's Westerman and Westerman alone - his heart - his language -and baggage- unto itself translated only by strings, bass, and emotion-invoking single piano strikes.
The way this record continues to push me to increase the volume of my headphones with every listen brings the importance of An Inbuilt Fault all the more into focus.
Westerman's way of putting introspective and emotion-ridden words into order with his music amounts to a poetic assembly throughout - I find the sorry, longing, and wonder from which this record is crafted to be resonant of James Wright. The silent observer. You can pick up so much from such small lyrical passages.
"The moon drops one or two feathers into the fields.
The dark wheat listens.
Be still"
-Beginning, James Wright
Westerman's An Inbuilt Fault is a divine pick if you love organic instrumentation & poetic narrative.
RIYL: Bon Iver | Elton John | Gordon Lightfoot
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