Press Release

[reviews]

"Small emotional pieces with big effect......a real pearl" Terrorverlag Germany

"Unique......It’s unplugged beauty at it’s best." funprox.com

"a beautiful, enchanting one-of-a-kind work of art" DPRP Holland

"Extraordinary, magical, at times terrifying......and quite, quite brilliant." June Tabor

" thank heavens there's music like this which puts your head back where it should be....Truly beautiful" Fiona Talkington Late Junction Radio 3

Whisperin and Hollerin 10/10 (review ©whisperin and hollerin)

I was at a friend’s house when they put this on. Knowing I had a soft spot for acoustic music they thought I would find it interesting. I’d never heard of him and it seems, after some Internet searching, that Charlie Beresford has spent the last few years bubbling under the radar of the media and from what I can gather he has also been a backroom boy for the likes of June Tabor (folk diva famously loved by Elvis Costello).

Right form the opening ‘The Room is Empty’ puts its’ uncompromising edge to the fore, dispelling any drippy hippy preconceptions you may have in one beautifully discordant chord change. ‘If Only’ (the opening track) sounding very like a classical version of P J Harvey, moves along in a very free flowing manner an approach that is mirrored throughout the album. The lyrics are dark: painting images rather than telling stories; some of the images are disturbing and ask the kind of questions that will push some people away. This could be seen as the flaw to the whole album, many listeners not used to say classical music or the more extreme edges will find it heavy going at first.

In terms of songs ‘I let you walk with me’ requires a special mention as it falls out of the speakers of your stereo like water: it is beautiful and approachable. This can also be said of ‘This point here’ a fluid jazzy song punctuated by a tango like rhythm. From start to finish ‘The Room is Empty’ has a sense of foreboding that never goes away, beauty clashes with the sinister and it never really moves out of the shadows. As a result you need to leave yourself at the door and just let it wash over you.

In terms of the physical playing Charlie Beresford is a real singer and a guitar player of some stature. He has been described as a less angelic Jeff Buckley, but I think a hard-edged more capable John Martyn is nearer the mark. The other two musicians (Tim Harries on double bass and Mark Emerson on violin, viola, and accordion) haunt the music with insect like precision that can only be described as soulfully masterful.

This is a highly original work with no category to sit comfortably in and this no doubt will be its’ downfall. Too jazzy to be folk, to classical to be pop, and with no drums and keyboards rock’s out as well. The strange thing is that if the guitar was distorted this record would rock as hard as Tool.

To call Charlie Beresford a singer songwriter is kind of missing the point, sure he writes songs and performs them but each of the pieces on this album are like small movies. From the press release on his website he is, “painter turned composer” and it shows. I will nail my colours to the mast and say that this record deserves more success than I know it will get. The hope is that it won’t remain hidden and that Charlie Beresford will suffer the indignity of obscurity while alive that so many other artists we take for granted now have.

To sum up, lovers of James Blunt, David Grey, Damien Rice and all, will probably not be able to cope with this CD. This isn’t pop as we know it. The Room is Empty has more to do with the German tradition of Lieder and Steve Reich than the given structures of songs in pop that we are used to. As has been said before, there are no drums, no keyboards, no break beats, and no crutches for the listener. In some reviews of this album this has been held as a criticism, but when did we all foist these rules on ourselves? I say so what, the playing is so good on this record why should they have slowed it down with such things. The depressing fact for Charlie Beresford is that this will stop some people from trying this out, but, to be honest, this kind of quality doesn’t come around very often. What is sad is that the likes of Charlie Beresford will probably never witness the success that the middle of the road has now got blasé with. The term genius gets banded around so often these days most of us have forgotten what the term means, but this is as close to a work of genius as you will find in this day and age, however flawed it may be. Long after the shambles that is Babyshambles, and the sad sight of Pete Doherty has gone people will be looking back on records like this and understanding that some people really did have something to say. [JP]

Funprox.com (review © funprox.com)

‘The room is empty’ by Charlie Beresford is an unique album. Beresford blends elements of folk and haunting, contemplating pop into a brooding sonic mixture. His vocals are very present and remind me of some tracks by Jeff Buckley, although Beresford’s voice is not so angelic. It’s drenched in emotion however, and has a pleasantly bleak timbre.

Traditional pop-structures are not respected on this album. They make way for a more atmospherical way of playing with room for acoustic guitars, accordion and violin. Drumming is totally absent on this record, so the rhythmic structure depends solely on the usage of mentioned instruments.

The album is quite pure in the sense that it’s not riddled with electronic effects. Instruments are used acoustically and are handled very well. It’s unplugged beauty at it’s best. Beresford must be acquainted with a diversity of styles, since the way he plays can as easily be described as pop/ rock, as classical and folkish. Sometimes even experimental. This counts for the violin parts as well.

Although the album is overall calm, there is a kind of tension or even threat, which sometimes surfaces. I must admit that it took me a couple of spins before I could really enjoy the album, so I guess it’s not totally accessible. The great quality of the album is that it’s dynamic and powerful while being emotional and atmospheric at the same time. Not only Beresford voice, but also the way he sings is truly fascinating and compelling. A great effort.

Be warned: this album is not for the faint-hearted. Casual listeners looking for glossy ballads, deep acoustic soundscapes, or lush melodies over soaring backdrops can stop reading now. Musicians looking for something truly original to listen to and contemplate, or anyone who enjoys the kind of album you can play while sipping a glass of wine and sitting by a fire of a winter's evening, keep reading: you just might find this interesting.

While The Room Is Empty is interesting, and certainly unique, it would be a far cry to call it progressive in any traditional sense. Indeed, former painter Charlie Beresford harkens back to school of Art Rock (although "rock" is a bit misleading, in this case), blending elements of folk and classical music together into a captivating (if not exactly energetic) picture that often seems more visual than aural. With The Room Is Empty Mr. Beresford (vocals, acoustic guitar), with the aid of Mark Emerson (violin, viola, accordion) and Tim Harries (double bass), paints a slow, bleak, yet somehow beautiful sonic picture, using coarse brushes and organic, earthy tones. Very well recorded, even pristine, but organic and earthy all the same.

As much of this album seems to be improvised, or based on improvisations which were later developed, consistent melodies are interspersed throughout but certainly not a solid item. This allows Charlie's songs to move about freely, unencumbered by the limitations of traditional musical structures, which adds to his style of playing quite nicely.

The Room Is Empty showcases a variety of moods, from acoustic minimalism to almost bard-like songs to a couple reminiscent of early Kansas, and the lyrics are deep, dark, at times accusing, adding an element of shadow to the painting. Doing a by-track analysis of this album would be pointless, as it is a work of art more than a collection of three-minute soundbytes...it must be admired as a whole to be understood and appreciated.

Special mention, however, must go to Hillside Lights for being a wake-up call halfway through the disc, Hard-surface for being generally listener-friendly (and man, Tim Harries' bass makes this song flow), and Not The Man for being strangely powerful.

I'll be honest and say that it took me a few listens to find much noteworthy about this album, and it took a while for exactly what was going on artistically to sink in, but the time it took to get inside the music was well worth it in the end. The Room Is Empty isn't a singalong, it isn't a rocker, it most likely isn't the kind of album you'd share with casual music fans. It isn't uplifting, it isn't earth-shattering, and it isn't terribly energetic. (It could, perhaps, stand a bit more consistent melody and structure, to appeal to those less fond of meandering.) It IS, however, a beautiful (in that odd way only a stark, bare thing can be) and, given time, enchanting one-of-a-kind work of art. [CHRISTOPHER DANE FRICK ]