Seamus Cater - The Three Things You Can Hear

"The first track on Seamus Cater‘s latest record, ‘The Three Things You Can Hear‘, introduces such a unique and singular sound that, paradoxically, the listener’s first instinct is to go searching for comparisons and precedents. It’s a tough job. Sure, there are elements of Ivor Cutler but in Cater’s work the music is tied to the voice, and to the content of the lyrics, in a way that is natural, organic and inseparable. There is an aftertaste of Arthur Russell here too, and a hint of atonality that recalls Nico’s work with John Cale, or indeed some of Cale’s more challenging solo work. But none of those comparisons really nails it. There is a narrative element to Cater’s record that becomes more apparent – and more engrossing – the more you hear it. That first song – Crabb 9807 – documents the rescue of a 1941 concertina from junk shop obscurity in Amsterdam, and the slow rehabilitation of that instrument until it was in a state where it could be played on – you guessed it – this album. The ultimate example of the twin narratives of music and lyrics binding together. The style is almost bardic in its ability to relay narrative. A truly original record with a cosmopolitan and at times improvisational feel." Thomas Blake - FRUK