Peter Mulvey is one of the most innovative and talented artists around, and over his twelve releases he’s gone from an album recorded live in the subway ‘Ten Thousand Mornings’, through to the excellent but challenging ‘Knuckleball Suite’ – one thing is for sure, he’s never one to rest on his laurels and stick to a predictable format.
‘Letters from a Flying Machine’ keeps the theme of unpredictability alive by including a handful of spoken word pieces across the album; Peter successfully includes spoken word in his live shows and they work equally well scattered amongst the songs.
He’s always been an ambitious, sophisticated writer and performer full of articulate, intense and thoughtful songs, and this album shows him in the very best light with the spoken word pieces providing a natural change of pace – its serves him well on stage and it’s transferred to record equally well.
The breaks are welcome too, as in amongst his distinct baritone and rhythmic detailed guitar work are some deep, deep lyrics that pose formidable questions to the listener about the universe, our place in time and space and the tensions between creation and inevitable decay.  Without spoiling the pay-off at the end, he neatly wraps it all up with the Coda, which elegantly brings it back to a personal level.
The songs are beautifully put together from the tale of the explosives expert ‘Dynamite Bill’ where he tunes his bass string way down so it rattles and resonates, to the light and bouncy melody of ‘On A Wing and a Prayer’, through to the almost freeform vive la difference lyrics of ‘Some People’.
The spoken word pieces are a real joy, letters written to his nieces and nephews whilst flying around as a musician; these are funny, insightful and utterly though-provoking letters that cover a huge range of subject from the majesty of machines on ‘Letter from a Flying Machine’, right through to the universe and life on the fantastic ‘Vlad the Astrophysicist’.
Peter Mulvey is a uniquely talented artist, and this is a genuinely unique disc.  He delivers the songs and spoken word pieces with an intimacy and sophistication; and while these are lyrically pretty heavyweight material, he delivers it in an engaging, everyman style.
This is an unforgettable and imaginative disc – it may not be for everyone, but those looking at the whole craft and range of singer/songwriters will be knocked out by this.

Track listing
1 Kids in the Square
2 Some People
3 Letter from a Flying Machine
4 Windshield
5 What's Keeping Erica?
6 ....Plus the Many Inevitable Fragments
7 Dynamite Bill
8 Shoulderbirds (You Know Me)
9 Mailman
10 Bears
11 Vlad the Astrophysicist
12 On a Wing and a Prayer
Coda Love is Here to Stay

£12.99