Album Review: Major Chord - Transition

Multi-instrumentalist Dan Flynn has, under the moniker Major Chord, attempted to craft simple yet intricate soundscapes that somehow straddle the personal and impersonal, the mundane and the profound, all at the same time. He has succeeded to some degree over his last three releases (most notably on 2011's Psychic Civil War).

Yet it's on Transitions, Flynn's fourth outing as Major Chord, that he opens up to collaboration in an attempt that add the final flourishes to his pastoral ruminations. Opener Everything Is Everything sees the darkness of some of Major Chord's better outings slip away, and the added dynamism sees Flynn at his most relaxed – but also at his most derivative. This whimsical take on taking things as they come could pluck the heartstrings of any plaintive folk fanatic, but Flynn's oeuvre means there is much more expected here. The understated meditation As The Night Closes In sees the ship somewhat righted; the plaintive duet (with Meabh Friel) sped into a hushed tavern shanty, whilst Flynn strikes his strongest Bon Iver pose on the rather moving Rubber House. The title track is stripped-back once more, just Flynn, his harshly picked guitar lines, and a violin mourning in the shadows, before a trumpet and more backing vocals join the fray.

These added elements seem to indicate that Transition is aptly-titled – Flynn is growing in confidence and ambition. Still, the unnerving notion that by buying into grandiose compositions Major Chord has lost what made him so endearing haunts the rest of the record (except for beautiful penultimate track Along The Riverside).  Too many areas within the album highlight that less is most definitely more.