Starting out as a post-rock collective, and featuring veterans of Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Blur, and Eric Bibb among their ranks, Held By Trees emerged in 2022 with their debut album, Solace. A pair of EPs followed, recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios, to which the band returned for this venture. Something a little different, the Held By Trees & Martin Smith EP is the first collaboration between the titular parties. Martin, best known as the front man of Delerious? is a world-renowned and prolific musician who lends his voice to three new tracks here, with the remaining runtime taken up with instrumental versions and an ambient remix, the EP as a whole clocking in at over an hour. Housed in a gatefold card sleeve with Nicola Stockley’s evocative artwork on the cover, it’s a lovely package that serves to introduce fans to a new side of the band.
On first track You Deserve, Martin Smith and Held By Trees immediately appear made for one another. Sensitive to the band’s delicate instrumental arrangements, Martin provides a restrained, albeit impassioned, performance that producer David Joseph (alongside mix engineers Phil Brown and Dave Lynch) deftly weave into the mix. The band, meanwhile, provide a gossamer fine backdrop, all gently picked guitar and rippling piano, that expands slowly to fill the room. It is a stunning, heart-rending piece of music, wonderfully produced, and reminiscent of Pink Floyd, latter day Anathema, and even U2 (albeit without the bombast), that seems to flow around the listener as different instruments float through the mix. As with all of the tracks on offer, it’s hardly less engaging in its instrumental form, the band knowing how to craft an arrangement that does not need vocals to find its voice – which is in no way to dismiss Martin’s wonderful performance.
Another lengthy piece, Lay Your Troubles Down also clocks in at twelve minutes, although the band’s performance is such that it feels half that. It emerges from a hazy ambience reminiscent of Floyd’s Endless River set, the echoing guitar slipping away like the early-morning mist to reveal the melody within. With elements of Steven Wilson / Tim Bowness collaboration No Man, it’s a truly sublime piece of music, and it’s easy to see why the band chose this particular piece for an ambient remix. The third and final piece Oh, My Love, is a shorter, snappier song that sees funky guitar dualling with Daniel Newberry’s saxophone on a track that nods to Peter Gabriel’s poppier excursions. With the whole band clearly having a blast, it’s easily the most vocally-influenced track, although its instrumental counterpart is enjoyable enough.
With the instrumental versions providing a mirror-universe alternative to their vocal versions, they’re a worthy inclusion, especially for fans of the band who’d like to hear how the EP might have sounded had it not been a collaborative effort. Of the three, the final track is arguably the least effective, only because it really sounds like it was made for vocals, whereas the others are more calmly reflective, suiting the band’s dreamy, post rock approach. That leaves the rather lovely ambient mix of Lay Your Troubles Down, which gently cloaks the guitars in even greater layers of reverb, at times recalling My Bloody Valentine. Strangely, given that it’s an ambient mix, it’s actually far shorter than its parent track – which is rather the opposite of what you might expect. Nonetheless, it’s a beguiling bonus, and anything that extends this EP is to be appreciated.
Beautifully played and recorded, and with Martin’s subtle vocals providing significant emotional heft, the Held By Trees & Martin Smith EP is a wonderful collaboration. While I’m hesitant to say this excellent band should always have vocals, the pairing nonetheless feels natural and could certainly provide a gateway to further such collaborations. Perhaps, like Mogwai, they’ll find ways to introduce vocal pieces across their albums, so as to have maximum impact without losing the band’s identity in the process. However they decide to take it forward, this lovely EP is a treasure and a worthy addition to any collection. 9/10
