New to our blog, Grimsby-based Hovercraft have come to our attention through a poignant restoration of an earlier work.
By Stanley West
Using Suno AI and modern mastering tools, the new double-A side is a careful restoration of cassette demos left by the band’s singer, Charlie ‘Pepper’ Wildman, who disappeared in 2012 after returning from a trip to India. He was last known to be in the Bournemouth area in 2015.
“We’ve tried to honour Charlie’s work without romanticising struggles we couldn’t fully understand at the time, or pretending we knew more than we did,” say Hovercraft.
The first track, New Pine Overcoat, is undeniably charming. It has a super classic guitar sound at the start, followed by a slow, meandering groove. Lyrically, it wanders between optimism and despair: “there’s a life around the corner/better than the one that you know” and “so if you kill yourself, please send me a note.”
The rhyme scheme is simple and pretty, giving it an innocent and almost nursery rhyme feel. Despite the undeniably dark themes (made sadder by the disappearance of Hovercraft’s singer) the track never stops sounding beautiful and sweet.
The restoration of the music on the first track is done well, and probably not something I would’ve noticed if I hadn’t been told. The lightness of the vocals is the only thing that screams out “restoration” but even that seems more like a deliberate artistic choice.
The second track, Angel, ultimately can’t keep the momentum of New Pine Overcoat. It has less of an edge than the first song, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and sounds a little more “indie” and a little less folk.
In terms of instrumentation, it’s more electronic than New Pine Overcoat which – although it will be popular with some –inevitably loses it some of the first track’s charm.
The vocals, too, are floatier than on the first. It’s also a little less lyrically compelling (I suppose it’s hard to mention the word “angel” without sounding slightly clichéd), but this is mostly because New Pine Overcoat sets such a high standard.
Overall, though, both tracks are a lovely tribute to Charlie Pepper, and it’s easy to see the care that went into the restoration process. If you view the release as purely a memorial, it’s beautifully done. If you view it differently, both songs are still good –especially the first.
New Pine Overcoat and Angel are out now, and you can listen to them below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator
