The Henrys - Quiet Industry
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The Henrys - Quiet Industry
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The Henrys
You've learned that right
Guitarist Don Rooke is the driving force behind bands that almost no one has heard of since The Henrys were conceived in Toronto in 1990. This despite critical acclaim for almost every project he has laid hand upon string to create. His primary tool is a kona resonator guitar that lends so much of the music a warm, humane feel, whether it is strummed, plucked, hammered or slid upon. It's the essential element that defines all the music that bears his name. While The Henrys are mostly known as an instrumental ensemble that occasionally uses voices (Mary Margaret O'Hara being one of the more noted contributors), Rooke began delving deeper into lyrics with the band's 2009 release Is This Tomorrow, and more recently with a trio called Three Metre Day, where vocalist Michelle Willis shone brightly.
Now comes a project seemingly conceived for words, and the newest singer to break their mold is the remarkable Gregory Hoskins, who has a wonderful range and a fragile delivery that makes some of the songs seem like eggshells that need to be nurtured through every note lest they fall apart in your hand. In the languid "The Dangers of Travel" he pleads:
In another, he sings of his failings, and hopes to "Make a Change for Good," singing:
This is followed by a brief instrumental that defines the sound of the ensemble, "Invention of the Atmospheric Engine," where Jonathan Goldsmith's delicate piano line gives way to the scratchy plunks and thunks of something indefinable, and again that fragility takes its place in the ear.
This flows naturally into "Reel Me In Gently,"
We wait for everything to finally collapse in despair, but instead Goldsmith, Rooke, Hoskins, Hugh Marsh (violin), John Sheard (organs), Tara Dunphy (backing vocals), Andrew Downing (bass), and Davide DiRenzo (drums) find the funk in "Was Is" and the ragged glory of the blues in "I Kneed You" and they let it all open up.
Should I go on? No, I think not. We'd be here all night. From sly humor to anguished poetry, Rooke and company have produced a gem, an hommage to folk sounds and jazz sensibilities; at times a loving satire of pop music. The Henrys are the tycoons of a Quiet Industry that produces sublime tapestries and sturdy widgets of the most elusive kind. - Cliff Furnald
Further adventures:
Don Rooke and Jeremy Bellaviti: The broom, plunger and socket session Three Metre Day (Hugh Marsh, Don Rooke and Michelle Willis) interviews Three Metre Day.
How I Saved Myself Three Centuries of Research by Making a
Fake World Music CD
Photo and all audio ©2015 Don Rooke/The Henrys
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 Quiet Industry is RootsWorld's Music of the Month selection for August, 2015 You can get the CD for 20.00 including post. The CD was donated by the artists, and all proceeds support RootsWorld.
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