An Inbuilt Fault

...t album, Your Hero Is Not Dead, in 2020, U.K. songwriter Will Westerman met with a period that included the onset of a worldwide pandemic, a relocation from his native London to Athens, Greece, and an admitted disenchantment with making music. When he did eventually return to writing songs, they were directly inspired by two years of isolation, heartache, and dread; the title of the resulting album, An Inbuilt Fault, refers to human flaws and frailty. Recorded in the Los Angeles area with intricate Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia as co-producer and at later sessions in London, it returns to a musical demeanor that's both meditative and understated, intense and trippy. The album's varied cast of players include Krivchenia, Luke Temple (Art Feynman, Here We Go Magic), and Mat Davidson (Twain, the Low Anthem), all on multiple instruments. Opener "Give" sets the stage, underscoring clear and restrained, sometimes-double-tracked vocals with a spacious arrangement of stringed-instrument drone, irregular, loping drums, and interjections of electric guitar, bass guitar, piano, ensemble strings, and what sounds like shattering glass, while lyrics dwell on thoughts such as "It's not easy to give/I'm sorry I couldn't hold the bridge." Although not immediately apparent in its lyrics, the musically like-minded second track, "Idol; RE-run," was written in response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Later, "CSI: Petralona" addresses complex early impressions of Athens. Songs including the lengthier "A Lens Turning" show more conspicuous signs of discomfort and urgency, with Westerman laying down a more impassioned vocal delivery ("I don't know who I am anymore") reflected in a pressing tempo, drums reinforced by layers of handclaps, hand drums, and various other percussion, and adding spacey, post-punk-colored synths as part of the album's continued intermittent instrument cues. The overall effect is technical -- even proggy -- as well as longing and unsettling, all at once. All told, An Inbuilt Fault's subtlety will reward patient listeners, as repeat listens reveal more of its emotions and sonic detail. ~ Marcy Donelson