London, 1977. The images that first spring to mind aren't very pleasant: London's Burning, Anarchy in the UK, social upheaval and discontent, inflation, pollution... wide collars. Far from the seething boil of the city however was the Welsh countryside with its sea cliffs, Norman castles and gently rolling hills. Here, respectable gentlemen had respectable children who would learn about Pooh Corner before being hustled off to bed, the father settling down in his recliner with a pipe, a spot of fine brandy and a good book (preferably A Shropshire Lad). Excuse the hyperbole, but with each succeeding album Gorky's Zygotic Mynci release they retreat further from their skittish early style, and over the years, they've gradually settled into a well-crafted folk/pop whose tranquility must be the influence of an idyllic past.
It's apparent that, as little Zygotes, the Gorky's didn't have Johnny Rotten or the Clash blaring into their cribs, and that punks with pink mohawks were as rare and fantastic as unicorns. How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart is a testament to the influences of their youth; echoes of Lennon and McCartney, Simon and Garfunkel, Nick Drake, and Fairport Convention glide through the album before tiptoeing into a corner and reappearing a few tracks later. Think of "Long, Long, Long," "Scarborough Fair," and "Pink Moon." You detect as much of a hint of angst in this music as a fart in the wind. While hints of this pure melodic sense were evident on their earlier albums, more often than not the emphasis was on the eccentric or even the bizarre.
Gorky has always enjoyed surprising or puzzling the listener, creating albums as varied and unpredictable as a Hieronymous Bosch canvas; they often sing in Welsh, and shift tempo, volume and instruments unexpectedly. On this outing however, all of the tracks are sung in English at an even, gentle tempo, and you're only taken by surprise when you consider the beauty of the arrangements, all of which are understated, with Euros Child's voice rarely rising above a whisper. GZM still incorporate an array of instruments into their songs, but here they complement the mood of the album well and add a subtle shading which prevents the set from ever tiring the listener.
Lennon and McCartney allusions are there from the start. The first track on the album, "Where Does Yer Go Now," starts off with an intro reminiscent of Mind Games. Before the track ends, though, you feel like you've just rummaged through the local music store. And the number of instruments the band manages to mix into a four-minute single is even more impressive when you consider how effortless it all sounds. It's a testament to the amount of care that's been put into these tracks. I often found myself listening intently just trying to filter out and categorize all of the detail. Considering that the main band members are credited with playing no less than 25 different instruments (and that doesn't include the string section or brass band), it's easy to get an idea of the amount of organization required to pull it all together. The Fab Four-modulated harmonies and looped electronic effects on "Where Does Yer Go Now" display the group's fascination with psychedelia, and it all swells into a final string arrangement of Magical Mystery Tour majesty.
There are few true lapses on the album, but the slight second track, "Honeymoon With You," is one of them. Sounding like a lost item rescued from the trash bin of The Velvet Underground & Nico sessions, I admire the intentions, but after a couple listens through this disc, you realize that despite all of their strengths, GZM lacks a strong lyricist to match their compositions. The flimsy sentiments of, "I wanna honeymoon with you/ Coz I'm feeling so blue/ And if I honeymoon with you/ I'll get rid of these blues/ Ooh, ooh, ooh/ Get rid of these blues," show that no matter how hard they may try, they'll never come up with anything with the edge and bite that Lou Reed gave the Velvets. The only intriguing sets of lyrics throughout are those to "Hodgeston's Hallelujah" and "Christina," a ballad so achingly sweet you're shocked to discover that it's a chronicle of an obsessed fan's plan to murder a starlet.
"Where Does Yer Go Now" and "Christina" aren't the only standouts, though. There are strong songs throughout. The first single from the album, the longing "Stood on Gold" sounds like it could have been stolen from an Elliott Smith record with its breathy vocals and plaintive reflections on age and a lost lover; the earnest "Dead-Aid" with its melancholy arrangement for violin and hushed horns; the slowly swinging groove and sweet duet voices of "Can Megan"; the brooding Dirty Three strings of the sailor's dirge "These Winds."
I could go on naming great songs off this record, but the strength of these tracks only brings me back to the wish that Gorky's Zygotic Mynci would put as much effort into their lyrical content as they do with their instruments. I think "Christina" is a good template, despite the apparent influence of the Beautiful South on their sound. I'd like to see the band acquire more of a morbid wit and irony, or stray further towards a psychedelic whimsy a la Neutral Milk Hotel. I do notice a lot of affinities between the Gorkys and the Elephant 6 collective, and I'd love to see the results of bringing Jeff Mangum into the mix. Gorky's Neutral Zygotic Mynci Milk Hotel... maybe it's not such a good idea after all.
