Simon Hinkler – Moving On
(Correctitude Records)
Reviewed by Ambient Light.
Affectionately known to many as Slink, Simon Hinkler is undoubtedly most familiar as the lead guitarist from UK goth rock legends The Mission. But for those who didn’t already know that, the distinctive guitar interplay between Hinkler and bandleader Wayne Hussey (ex-Sisters of Mercy and Dead Or Alive) was a definitive feature of the classic Mission sound, spanning the seminal albums ‘God’s Own Medicine’ (1986), ‘Children’ (1988), and ‘Carved in Sand’ (1990), along with their early singles/B-sides and EP content compiled on ‘The First Chapter’ (1987), and the later rarities compilation ‘Grains of Sand’ (1990). To the dismay of fans, Slink left The Mission during their 1990 US tour, but ultimately returned to the fold for their 25th Anniversary, followed by the albums ‘The Brightest Light’ (2013) and ‘Another Fall from Grace’ (2016). The latter saw The Mish re-enter the UK Top 40 for the first time in over two decades, while embarking on their celebrated 30th Anniversary World Tour, which also brought them back to New Zealand for the first time since 1990.
Outside of The Mission, Hinkler’s recording career is as substantial as it is diverse, not only as a guitarist but as a multi-instrumentalist and producer. Just some of the more notable projects over the years have included playing organ, piano and guitar with influential Sheffield post-punk band Artery during the early-mid ‘80s; appearing as co-writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist on Pulp’s 1983 debut album ‘It’ (later going on tour as the band’s drummer); forming the experimental Flight Commander project with Artery vocalist Mark Gouldthorpe, for which Hinkler wrote and performed all music and instruments across two albums and two EPs from 1985-1993; producing and lending additional keys to All About Eve’s self-titled album in 1987; and appearing as one third of electronic project Mindfeel from 1993-97.
By the early 2000s Simon had relocated from his hometown of Sheffield to the US, where he began writing his first solo album while living in New Jersey and commuting to New York for work. He later formed The Reverends in 2004 while living in Taos, New Mexico, and meanwhile released his debut solo LP, ‘Lose the Faith’ in 2005. He returned briefly to The Mission in 2008 for what were then touted as the band’s “final shows”, and since reuniting with the band from 2011-present he’s also made several well-received guest appearances on guitar with UK ethereal-goth ensemble The Eden House, and has played a series of acoustic solo shows opening for Anne Marie Hurst (The Skeletal Family, Ghost Dance), The March Violets, The Eden House, and more recently, Wayne Hussey’s own solo live tours.
Remarkably, however, the forthcoming 5-song ‘Moving On’ EP is only Hinkler’s second solo release; the long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s ‘Lose the Faith’. Like its predecessor, ‘Moving On’ is very much a solo effort with Simon writing, performing and producing almost everything himself, aside from some guest appearances from friends on tracks 2 and 3. An especially notable feature of ‘Moving On’ is just how vividly the EP format showcases Hinkler’s diverse array of talents; its varied twists and turns made sharper and more pronounced by the shorter route taken.
The opening track, ‘It Isn’t You’, traverses familiar territory for long-time Mission fans, making it the obvious choice for the leading promo/preview track ahead of the EP’s release. Slink’s signature guitar style is the standout feature; those stadium-sized riffs and leads that characterised ‘Children’ and the bigger moments from ‘Carved In Sand’, and which alongside the likes of The Sisters, The Cult and Fields of the Nephilim set the benchmark for epic goth rock between the mid ‘80s and early ‘90s. It’s an important reminder of just how crucial Hinkler’s part in The Mission always has and always will be, and like his ‘Lose the Faith’ album, it puts those immediate, identifiable points of reference up front before inviting the listener to travel down less-familiar roads with him. At the same time, ‘It Isn’t You’ stands apart from earlier output by stripping the grandiose production back to a more intimate and direct approach, hinting at what will follow.
That intimacy is exemplified by ‘Virginia’, one of the most tender and evocative songs on ‘Moving On’. The arrangement is striking in its simplicity; an upright acoustic double-bass performed by Shaun Perry lends the noir-ish feel of a smoke-filled jazz club in WWII-era Europe, while Simon’s resonant, full-bodied semi-acoustic guitar (full of Antonio Badalamenti vibrato) and plaintive, melancholic vocal recall the mournful ballads of early Bowie, John Cale or Scott Walker. Gently accentuated by atmospheric synth-strings along the way, it’s in these understated settings that Hinkler’s voice begins to reach out to the listener, offering a closer glimpse at his disarmingly direct penmanship and songcraft. Extending himself just beyond his natural, comfortable “resting” vocal range, the resultant fragility becomes the song’s strength. Just two minutes and thirty seconds in length, ‘Virginia’ makes its mark as one of the record’s high points, and like “the memory of Virginia” referred to, it lingers in mind long after the closing chord.
‘Friends’ picks up yet another musical thread, somewhere between Vaudeville, Music Hall, carnivalesque pantomime, and piano-side pub singalong; decidedly English and European “pre-rock” elements that can also be found in The Beatles, The Kinks, Bowie and Roxy Music. Lyrics play out like a darkly comedic morality tale, swinging back and forth between a cynical catalogue of depravity and woe in the verses and more redemptive, optimistic hooklines. It’s never too clear just how seriously to take the jaunty tone of ‘Friends’, replete with its oompah brass, a fantastic Mick Ronson-style lead guitar break, and a chorus-line of ‘Laughing Policeman’-meets-‘Velvet Goldmine’ voices chiming in from behind. Fittingly, the song is actually performed by The Reverends – the band of friends that Simon (lead vocals, guitar, piano, miscellany) put together for fun while living in New Mexico c.2004-06, featuring Tony Mastandrea (clarinet, trombone, bass, vocals), Dana Wingfield (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Ted Forbes (drums, flute, vocals).
‘What More Do We Know?’ returns to some of the shimmering guitar tones and grand arrangements of The Mission, All About Eve or The Church; part sixties psychedelic pop, and part eighties pop ballad. For trainspotters, Slink’s custom-built electric ukulele makes an appearance in the lead melody lines, although few would guess that it wasn’t a heavily effected guitar. The Church comparison is reinforced by occasional similarities in the tonality of Hinkler’s voice to that of Steve Kilbey, whereas Mission fans will be reminded of guitar-spangled pop songs from ‘Carved in Sand’ (e.g., ‘Sea of Love’ or ‘Butterfly on a Wheel’), and the almost Sitar-like lead guitar break as we approach the song’s bridge even has shades of The Cult’s ‘Revolution’ to it. Perhaps, in 2018, the more saccharine aspects of that overall sound haven’t dated so well, but this is unlikely to deter the diehard fanbase, and in no way detracts from the melodicism of the handsomely layered guitar arrangements. Approaching the three-minute mark, everything else falls away to a naked, fragile vocal during the bridge, before we’re back into the final round of escalating verses and extended choruses to end.
Finally, the title track yields another of the EP’s finest moments. The song ‘Moving On’ is composed almost entirely of close, intimate vocals and the warm, nostalgic sound of a Fender Rhodes electric piano (and again, some atmospheric synth-string accents here and there), reminding us that before he was a gothic rock gunslinger, Simon Hinkler was best known as the keyboardist with Artery. And once again, it’s in these comparatively stripped back moments that his vocals truly shine. Here, Hinkler reflects on the transience of physical/geographical locations as being analogous with fluctuating states of mind and being, bringing together the shifting moods and tones of the ‘Moving On’ EP under one recurrent motif. In common with ‘Virginia’, the song’s brevity and austere arrangement only serve to sharpen its poignancy, leaving the listener with that same lingering sense of wistful longing.
And that’s it: five songs coming in just over the 18-minute mark, while covering a strikingly varied musical and stylistic range in the process, and still leaving you wanting more in the best possible way. ‘Moving On’ officially releases on 7 September 2018, and can be ordered now from The Mission’s online store.
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