Dave Clarkson - A Pocket Guide to Abandoned Locations of the British Isles

Released: October 2

If you have ever wanted to travel but you insist on the whole trip being akin to a ghost tour, then the latest album from Dave Clarkson may be your best bet for finding the best spots. A Pocket Guide to Abandoned Locations of the British Isles is mostly what the title suggests, with Clarkson taking a trip of his own volition to gather audio samples and recordings from these very places, some of which are quite specifically named and some leave a bit to the imagination. Some of these location inspire a bit more intrigue while others feel downright ghostly like the aptly named “Ghosts of Tyneham” that consists of gently shifting atmospheres and unintelligible whispers. Still, others keep things rhythmically driven and electronic focused such as the opening “Thurgoland Tunnel” while keeping the airy samples pulled from this location present. There’s a particularly great bit of percussion that takes advantage of the acoustic of this location to give us one of the best reverberated claps ever.

With each composition, the sounds pulled from the locations takes up the bulk of each track with a wonderful assortment of cobbled percussion from the environment and a bit of beefing up from secondary sources and a touch of electronic sources for the occasional melody. This is especially true of the tracks that don’t correspond to a location, such as the drifting elegy that is “Lost in Loss.” There is a theme with this album that points to more than just a tour of forgotten places. The theme of loss or being forgotten runs through everything and is punctuated by the choice of locations. Each location has the sense of standing in a graveyard of memories, standing in a single place as the sounds of formerly inhabited places come to you rather than seeking them out. 

Sonically, the album is complexly layered and leans towards the morose, but keeps an element of life about it. Thematically, the album is more complex than just showing the listener some cool abandoned places and instead tying them together as a reflection of loss in general. It’s a fascinating listen, one that is worth more than just a single walk around if you wish to catch the full depth.