Martyn Bates is a founding member of the eclectic '80s duo Eyeless inGaza and a prolific collaborator and solo artist. "Dance of Hours" is a27 minute mini album that is essentially a continuation of his solowork "Letters Written" begun in 1982. Bates plays most everything here:piano, organ, bass and electric Hawaiian guitar plus additional vocalson 2 songs by Elizabeth S. and co-production by former Gaza partnerPeter Becker. But, most importantly, is the voice. To say that Bates'voice is heavenly is still an understatement. It is undeniably thefocal point of these richly melodic, poetic songs. In fact, the moreminimal the musical accompaniment, the better. "Poems Pennyeach" and"Alone Reprise" (which are pretty much the same James Joyce piece, bothless than a minute apiece) and "The Heart Song" showcase only Bates'golden throat within a reverberated cloud or intermittent backgroundvocalizations. The rest effectively couple the voice with flickers ofnotes and drone. Though this album is brief it's still a very welcomeaddition to Bates' catalog. And the insert thoughtfully contains all ofthe lyrics, pure poetry in and of itself.
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