Keeley Forsyth is not known for her gags, but perhaps Hand To Mouth, recorded with pianist and longtime collaborator Matthew Bourne, begins with a sly joke. “I’ve lost all my power /I’ve lost my detail,” Forsyth sings on opening track ‘Consider This’. The strength of her voice gives the lie to what she’s saying, while Bourne’s playing is understated yet purposeful, rich in nuance.
It’s a track to set the tone for what will follow on a six-track EP that finds the duo, both accomplished composers, paring back their music to explore the relationship between voice and keyboard. “It seems silence has a place here,” notes Forsyth on ‘It Seems’, which it’s tempting to read as a kind of guiding principle for the overall project. Nevertheless, Forsyth and Bourne add a cello to the track – not the only time they turn to the warmest of string instruments to give colour to otherwise largely minimalist arrangements.
‘Talk To Me’, featuring a Memorymoog synth, references church music, although Forsyth’s vocal undercuts any potential outbreak of Sunday languor. As so often with her songs, it’s difficult to pin down precisely what Forsyth might be singing about, but it’s a track that conjures up a snowy landscape where hope appears to be in short supply.
‘Rain’ is the least conventional track on the EP, replete with odd melodic shifts and occasionally discordant, which may reflect how, in this case, Forsyth’s vocals lead the piano. ‘Anxiety’ is driven by nagging piano lines, the sound of waking at 4am and not being able to shake your worries. Closing track ‘Sing’ reframes ‘Creature’ from 2024 LP The Hollow. A song inspired by the passing of Forsyth’s late grandmother, Mary, it deals with being at a loved one’s deathbed. “What if I sing?” Rising, almost euphoric piano chords and the presence yet again of cello can’t mask the anguish, but they convey the idea the pain will one day fade.
As a suite of songs, Hand To Mouth lacks the rigour of Forsyth’s full-length albums, but that may just be a recommendation in itself. At a time when so many modern classical-adjacent albums are austere and formal to the point of being daunting, Forsyth and Bourne are inviting us to listen in as they try a new approach. And while you certainly wouldn’t go so far as to describe the results as playful, this is music imbued with a sense of adventure and, despite its frosty veneer, compassion.
