'The Coleshill Tapes' by Stylusboy
Review
Fans of Stylusboy's 2023 release ‘Back in the Day' will hopefully be pleased to hear that he's back with another EP comprising songs based on stories from older memories of community members.
This time with ‘The Coleshill Tapes' he is (you guessed it) in Coleshill and the songs ("Pockets Full of Life and Freedom", "The Journey that Never Came Back", "A Better Tomorrow" and "Raise a Glass") are inspired by stories of life during the Second World War experienced by some of the residents to whom he spoke.
Funded by Creative Coleshill (Rural Hub Towns) through Live and Local and Arts Council England, this project is obviously centred on the unique narratives of individuals.
Consequently, he needed to create around these, whatever shape they may have taken: to insert his own creative voice, even in editing would have been an act of manipulation if not distortion & certainly lacking in the respect appropriate to the project.
Therefore the lightest of creative touches was required yet he also had to shape the stories into song formats which could connect with listeners: not an easy balance I'd have thought.
Of course, as with the previous time (the experience must have helped), he achieved this but it's worth noting that to complement this accessibility of form & authenticity of lyric, he chose to record them live in his own The Truffle Room studio. I'm sure any significant "production" detectable by the audience or convoluted arrangement would restrict the qualities he was aiming for. (It was mixed and mastered by Dave Pollard in The Wood Room).
It's impossible to fault his choice of song titles either: the aim is transparency and so you are prepared for each when you see what they are called. In fact you plunge straight into each narrative.
I'm sure you will be prepared for what lies within: any songs written from the viewpoint of elderly people looking back both to childhood and a period of trauma are bound to be emotionally charged: loss of places, times & people are the hallmarks so don't venture in unless you can handle pathos: though of course there are elements of optimism and ability to process which if they don't balance the sadnesses, at least offer compensatory feelings.
Steve as ever doesn't fall into the trap of amplification of emotion: the articulation of the residents is quite sufficient to shape the hearts of the tracks. Instead he sings with understanding & empathy: this is about them, not him.
That said, though these are person specifics, in his capable hands he takes the particular & offers it to us in ways which give us the chance, where we can, to relate to our own lives of those of our own families from that generation. His ‘Back in the Day' songs are important ones in his "regular" set to audiences from outside the community which inspired them & I don't doubt that the same will apply to ‘The Coleshill Tapes'.
