English pop/new wave band Japan’s frontman, David Sylvian, had a wonderful long run with the band producing over 10 studio albums from the late 70s to the 80s. However, his solo career had (in a lot of ways) a much more significant impact on other people’s lives, and my own. His first album, Brilliant Trees, is a beautifully constructed and composed masterpiece. The album itself is more like an audible piece of classical art rather than just any other music. He was influenced by artists such as Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, and Jean-Paul Sartre.
The second song on the album, “The Ink in the Well,” references Cocteau’s film “The Blood of a Poet,” and the song “Red Guitar” pays homage to Picasso’s famous painting “Blue Guitar.” The album’s genre is typically defined as Art Rock/Avante-pop (while none of it is actually rock, so don’t be misled). The album takes you on a musical journey, and everything from the beautiful and masterfully arranged instruments to Sylvian’s incredible vocal style will make your heart throb during every moment and around every corner. David curated musicians from around the world that are quite literally the best of the best at what they do, and the end result truly shows.
The album was produced by Virgin Records and was recorded in multiple sessions at Hansa Tonstudio (Berlin) and finished at The Church Studios (London). The album was produced by Sylvian and Steve Nye, who had worked with Nye plenty of times in the past alongside his bandmates in Japan. My all-time favorite tracks (and probably favorite songs in general) from the album are Track 2: The Ink in the Well, and Track 7: Brilliant Trees.
“The Ink in the Well”: The Ink in the Well is a beautiful track, with a darker sound than the rest of the album. It carries itself well with a lot of jazz-influenced tones and scales. The heavy tones of the upright bass with the subtle guitar harmonics in the first ten seconds of the song bring chills that run through my whole body. There are a lot of references to David’s influences in the song, such as the earlier mention “Blood of a Poet” in the lyrics “The blood of a poet, the ink in the well,” with other subtle references to Jean-Paul Sartre’s novel “The Age of Reason.” This song is capable in numerous ways of pulling heartstrings in ways that no one thought was ever possible.
“Pulling Punches”: This track sounds like what you would imagine listening to during a fight scene in an 80s high school movie. The awesome slap-bass line that starts off the song really makes you feel like you are ‘pulling punches.’ The striking guitar chords in the middle of the mix add an epic atmosphere with a combination of awesome brass and woodwind instruments to really bring out the different separating melodies throughout the song. And of course, as always, David Sylvian’s striking voice cuts through the mix with his distinct vocal melodies and harmonies. All around a great 10/10 track.
“Nostalgia”: This beautiful and atmospheric piece of art is beautifully written and has a lot of Pink Floyd-esque elements. Listening to this track will make you think you are listening to all of Pink Floyd’s albums simultaneously. This song really captures the essence of what nostalgia would be like in a musical sense. The composition of the subtle drum track along with the grandiose-subtlety of the few guitar notes every measure, and the rumbling synth in the bottom of the mix driving the whole song forward.
“Red Guitar”: As previously mentioned, this jazz-rock song was heavily influenced by Picasso’s famous painting of the “Blue Guitar.” This song, other than The Ink in the Well, is the most jazz influenced of them all. There are some killer guitar licks and chords that really complement the rest of the elements of the song. The guitar chords are very simple, yet so elegant in their chord structure. The guitar parts of this song really emphasize the beauty of simplicity. This is my third favorite song on the album as a whole.
“Brilliant Trees”: This is by far the most beautiful and genius song on this whole record. The best way to get yourself prepared for this song is to not prepare at all and enter the musical space with a completely open heart and mind. If you do this correctly, this song will touch your soul in ways that we thought to be unimaginable. The song starts off with a beautiful buzzing melody of the trumpet played by the legendary Jon Hassel, which the trumpet is played with a mute of some sort that gives it a soft and warm feel. This is one of, if not the longest song on the album, and it is most beautifully and wonderfully executed in every single detail. The lyrics are soft spoken and very easy and pleasant on the ears. My own interpretation of this song is comparing the life-giving capabilities of actual trees, to a deep intimate connection with another person in life, with the words “There you stand, making my life possible, reach my hands up to heaven, but only you could know.” Another beautiful lyrical section: “My whole life stretches in front of me, leading my life back to the soil.” It is easy to conceptualize the meaning of this song when picturing the scientific evidence that trees are the lungs of the Earth, which recycle CO2 into the oxygen we breathe, similar to how humans can develop dependency on the people we are close with and surround ourselves with.
The best way to truly understand this album is to listen to it all in one sitting while driving or just bored and having nothing better to do. If you like this album, I would highly recommend listening to some other of Sylvian’s music. Most definitely start with Secrets of the Beehive (1987) or Gone to Earth (1986). Also, to explore and gain a deeper understanding of David Sylvian’s roots as an artist, check out his band Japan’s discography. My personal album recommendations would be to start with Tin Drum (1981) or A Quiet Life (1979). Happy listening, and I hope y’all look forward to my next album review as much as I do.
The Hoot 
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