Long overdue, but finally here are three of Syd’s records recorded as The Loaded Whispers from pre-’Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth’. As always, they are free to download, but if you do then please take the time out to drop in at Syd Lane Music and let her know that you liked it. Because if it’s not about the money, then it’s got to be about the love, otherwise it just won’t work…

If you’re new to what Syd does then if you read on, we’ve got a brilliant guide to all of the records she’s made, written by her co-conspirator Jeremiah James. For those of you who already love her own unique brand of psychedelic-folk soaring songs then it is an equally enlightening, heartfelt and enjoyable read.

Nurturing Empty Screams

download: Nurturing Empty Screams

Sola

download: Sola

The Loaded Whispers – s/t

download: The Loaded Whispers - s/t

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Sola….

A new voice has arrived not quite fully formed but ready to lay it on the line for anyone bold enough to go with the feeling. The album was recorded on a very low quality pc mic with only a voice and an acoustic guitar late at night as people slept. This is where Syd first realised she had something to say and nothing was gonna stop her until she heard in her songs what she longed to hear on the radio. Sola like the albums that have followed holds a steady atmosphere all the way through sure of it’s own desire but nowhere near where the composer wanted to get to. It’s a collection of raw poetic songs that showcase ….Syd Lane….’s unique view of the human condition. There are some very intricate songs that I hope will one day become more whole but that like everything else is down to the inimitable ….Syd Lane….. A beautiful first shot at trying to say what needs to be said
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The Loaded Whispers….

I worked with a friend of mine to get a little studio set up for Syd in one of the bedrooms in our little home and this was the first album recorded using a piano as a midi controller for the soundcard on the pc. There are very brilliant songs here that soothe and caress at each and every listen. “Insouciance” and “Enlightened” are as loose and rocking as I could ever hope songs to be. “Bedroom window view” and “She talks to rainbows” well you listen and tell me what you think? Everything is still raw but there are glimmers of pure astral beauty that would become more fully realised the further Syd travels along her path
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Obliterate The Myths….

Sadly this record has all but been destroyed for Syd but I really love it. I think it’s a phenomenal achievement under the circumstances(which are far too boring to go into) I pray to the universe that someday Syd will return to this album and hopefully re-record the songs. This was Syd’s steepest learning curve so far and that learning had nothing to do with music or the art of recording and everything to do with empty promises and human deception. There are songs on this album that still stop me completely in my tracks in particular the way “In time we’ll return to the earth” finds it’s groove and “Nothing here is fair” brings this listener to a place I find incredibly difficult to leave. It also has one of Syd’s biggest pop anthems that has yet to be fully realised. Great album
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Nurturing Empty Screams….

Syd has now entered her very own heart of darkness and returned with some of the most guttural songs she has ever written. This record was a huge exhortation of pain fear grief and disillusion. An album that rightly deserves to be placed alongside Lou Reed’s “Berlin” John Lennons “Plastic Ono Band” and Primal Screams “XTRMNTR”. This is a fucking remarkable record bookended by two songs of desperate longing. It also contains a response to Ian Browns brilliant single F.E.A.R that really stands up to anything Syd has ever done both musically and lyrically. This was a record that showed a whole new Syd ready to battle the darkness head on and shirk no responsibility in doing so. This was a songwriter with something universal to say. It also marked a new studio setup which allowed Syd to record very quickly and keep moving as fast as she felt she needed to
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Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth….

This for me was the album where Syd became interested in pushing her songwriting wherever it wanted to go. She became more and more interested in communicating quickly and directly with her muse and the results are there for all to hear. A stunning collection of songs that are wildly disparate but hold together beautifully allowing the listener to journey with the composer/performer through the golden age of popular song as directed by the unique vision of ….Syd Lane….. I would like to state once and for all that everything Syd does in terms of recording music and writing songs is all done alone with no input from anybody else which when you look back over her 5 years of recording shows an unparalleled ability to do whatever she wants to do and make it fresh exciting and consistently brilliant. Her quality control is one of the most important things to her and she’s determined not to repeat or rest on her laurels.
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It Begins In Beauty….

An absolute masterpiece from start to finish. I still can’t believe how this album makes me feel loved, lost, scared and inspired all at once with an infinite amount of other emotions experienced as the songs wash over me. This is the work of an artist in complete control of her craft. Each song creates a world of it’s own that never excludes but rather welcomes the listener while at the same time challenging your ability to keep up with the idea’s contained within. I absolutely believe that this album will always show me that human beings only real legacy will be their connection with great art and the fact that so few people have heard this music is a real shame. “Not a poet be” and “You kept me humble” are my current favourites but these are only two of twelve reasons to weep for joy. We’re alive and where there’s life there’s hope man but you won’t find that in jobs/money/things.
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The Solstice Sessions….

A tantalising and intriguing peek into Syd’s ideas for her next full album. Recorded in a couple of hours on 21st December last. The date has particular significance as it’s the ancient pagan festival for the shortest amount of daylight hours in the northern hemisphere. This date was clumsily and crassly manipulated into the roman calendar as Christmas time. Listen and enjoy Syd’s songs stripped to their essential components and be ready for when they re-appear in perhaps completely different forms. Thank you Syd we are all in your cosmic debt.

by Jeremiah James

CATEGORIES:QUIXODELIC RECORDS, RELEASES, REVIEWS, SYD LANE