Something odd just happened. Normally, I can write whilst a listening to an album. That’s how the reviewing process normally work. Listen, write, listen but, occasionally, that process simply fails. Amdrew Holdsworth’s album “Streams of Consciousness” caused such a failure and, in one of those once in a blue moon moments, I listened to an entire album without touching my keyboard.
“Streams of Consciousness” is just one man and his piano and with a practised precision in execution always evident, Andrew Holdsworth has produced music for those who just want to hear something pure, something beautiful even, that is unsullied by the excessive use of technology. That wordless elegance – for, with a piano on a mission, who needs words? – makes these nine musical enchantments seem more than artistic indulgences or mere accompaniments to contemplation. Those with sensitive ears will hear the analogue in all of this as, underneath the melody and fluidity, you can hear hammers hitting strings and even his feet on the pedals as whatever is in his mind is transformed from idea to reality.
One man and his piano is all you really need. Andrew Holdsworth’s music is undoubtedly conventional yet, within that framework that many will easily accept, he demonstrates that when the muse gets you, she doesn’t let go easily and, let’s face it, that’s the way it should always be.