2 a.m. Orchestra - Album Review: Trading Graves
I am sitting in a bar in rainy Manchester, UK.Storm Dennis is about to hit. Boris is fucking up the UK and smooching with Trump who is fucking up America.
Meghan and Harry have seen sense and jumped ship and through all the chaos I have waves of melancholy and peace floating through my airpods courtesy of 2 A.M. Orchestra.
For the uninitiated 2 A.M. Orchestra is the creative outlet for David Kelley. As the clock ticks and you settle back and listen you will get sucked into his vortex.
True talent shines and like a moth to a flame I am transported. Lost in a subtle tractor beam that isn’t so much pulling me in as seeping through my senses.
It’s the voice, the undoubtable passion that is infectious. But what about the music?
Yeah, sure it jingles and jangles in all the right places. It feels familiar and comforting but set against that voice and those lyrics it is the perfect backdrop for reflection, contemplation, observation. Any station that connects you to your soul
This is what music is all about. Getting you from a place you are in to a place you want to be. If it isn’t working you switch it off.
One day you want to be screaming, one day you want to be dreaming. We all Spotify to our mood, stream the mood, switch and chop and change. It is overfuckingwhelming. Like someone once said “ they can’t get no satisfaction”
In a musical world that is saturated we need an umbrella. A place where we can take a step off to re-calibrate. Listening to Trading Graves leaves you feeling like you just had a heart-to-heart with your best mate.
Is this getting across? If not you need to reset the switch. Open your mind and step on. If you want to reset the switch, buy Trading Graves or anything else by 2 AM Orchestra It will cleanse your palate, repair your soul and make you inwardly smile.
About 2 a.m. Orchestra
After the release of Impermanence Kelley began travelling, living abroad and performing in various locations such as New York, Central America and even China. 2 a.m. Orchestra was put on the back-burner while Kelley toured with various projects: a country band that did shows for troops at international military bases, a theatre company performing a rock opera, and a percussion trio that gigged at state fairs. However, Kelley continued to write and record throughout this period. During two consecutive summers, the songwriter made a makeshift project studio from his grandmother’s country house located on the outskirts of his hometown (Fresno). These periods were spent compiling, writing, and recording a significant percentage of what now constitutes the entire 2 a.m. Orchestra catalogue (the vast majority of which remains unreleased).
Over the years, 2 a.m. Orchestra has primarily remained a solo endeavour – a one-man recording project with occasional outbursts of live performances. One such outburst occurred in 2008, a year after Kelley moved to Los Angeles. The L.A. band was a four-piece powerhouse with a turbo-charged rhythm section, gritty vocals, and surf-tone guitars. The band played sporadically, packing out indie venues like The Derby and Molly Malone’s.
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