Kim Seviour's 'Recovery is Learning' - Album Review

English singer Kim Seviour rose to fame as the frontwoman of the progressive rock band Touchstone, a band she fronted for eight years between 2007 and 2015. Despite Touchstone having been around in various forms since it was formed by keyboardist and vocalist Rob Cottingham in 2003, and even releasing an EP with previous singer Liz Clayden in 2006, it was with Seviour that Touchstone really began to make waves in the progressive rock world. The band's debut album, the excellent Discordant Dreams, was released the same year Seviour joined the band - and three more albums were released at regular two year intervals. While her role on Discordant Dreams is largely that of a harmony vocalist, as Cottingham initially dominated the band's sound vocally, this changed moving forward with her taking a much greater role on 2009's Wintercoast and then essentially singing all of the lead vocals on 2011's The City Sleeps and 2013's Oceans of Time. Seviour also had a greater hand in the band's songwriting process as time went on, with her being credited with the majority of the lyrics on the band's most recent releases. Sadly, it seems by the time Oceans of Time was released the band as it was had run it's course somewhat. I have never really got into Oceans of Time and I feel that it is significantly weaker than the rest of the band's catalogue. It is probably right then that two years later the classic Touchstone line-up split three ways. Seviour had already decided to leave the band, as she was struggling to commit to touring due to her long struggle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Cottingham announced in the run up to Seviour's planned farewell show that he too would leave the band. This left guitarist Adam Hodgson, bassist Moo, and drummer Henry Rogers to carry on the Touchstone name, which they have done excellently with vocalist Aggie and keyboardist Liam Holmes, and released the EP Lights from the Sky last year. Cottingham has since formed Cairo, and he seen him return to the sound of Discordant Dreams with his vocals once again taking centre stage, and released the album SAY last year. Seviour's plan when leaving Touchstone was to make her own album, and this was finally released in July titled Recovery is Learning. Taking influence from her struggles with illness over the year, the album is an extremely positive one that celebrates life and is driven by her charming vocal abilities. The album was written in collaboration with John Mitchell (Arena; Kino; Frost*; It Bites; Lonely Robot) who worked with Touchstone in the studio on all of their albums. Mitchell has also produced this new album and played the vast majority of the album's instruments. Graham Brown (Cairo) played all of the drums on the album, and Touchstone's Holmes contributed piano to one song, but everything else was played by Mitchell. This is both a blessing and a curse, as at times Recovery is Learning can sound like a cousin to his recent Lonely Robot solo albums, but overall Mitchell's songwriting and musical abilities is a big asset to the album. Unsurprisingly however, this is an album that largely focuses on the vocals and the vocal melodies. This is not a complex progressive rock album built on long instrumental sections, but instead a concise and melody-driven release that features some of Seviour's best vocal performances yet.

The album opens with the lead single Chiasma which is based around a strong piano riff with a tough rock backing. The verses are somewhat paired back, letting a snaking bassline dominate, while layers of atmospheric keyboards create a strong mood. Seviour's vocals in the verses are simply gorgeous, using a slightly higher register of her voice than usual, which works perfectly against the simpler backdrop. The chorus rocks harder, utilising the intro's piano riff and a more powerful vocal delivery. There is a short guitar solo in the song, not something which is used too often throughout the album, but it does give Mitchell a chance to cut loose on his main instrument. This is an excellent song, and a perfect way to kick off a new solo career with intent. Call to Action retains the energy of the previous song with a heavy opening guitar riff. While Touchstone were prone to heavier moments, I did not expect Seviour to carry this over into her solo career. I am glad she did however as it works well here. Like the previous number however the verses are calmer, this time with a chiming piano backing that sits atop a drum groove. The chorus is one of the album's best, with infectious vocal melodies that sink in after only a couple of listens and more heavier guitars. A short proggy guitar-led instrumental section provides a change of pace, before the song builds back up to another reprise of the chorus. Connect opens with a mid-paced guitar chug and a strong synth melody that provides the main hook. The bass guitar once again dominates the verses, with Seviour's fragile, almost whispered, vocals providing a counter melody. Despite the chugging intro, this is a fairly light song overall with little prominent guitar work outside of the intro sections, with it instead focusing on bass and chiming keyboards. Another spacey instrumental section adds a different dimension, although it does not last long before Seviour begins singing over it. Her vocals are mixed into the background however, with her becoming part of the soundscape as the piano takes centre stage. Fabergé, is the song to feature Holmes' piano playing and he teams up well with Mitchell in the intro as the two play the same floaty melody to great effect. After three fairly rocky pieces, this is the first real slower number on the album. The clean guitar melodies and the piano dominate, with Seviour's expressive and somewhat mournful vocals croon over the top. The song does build up somewhat over time, with drums coming in during the second verse and things open up after the second chorus with a subtle choral effect to give a big sound. Mitchell solos here once again, but this time he gets quite a long time to show off his skills with a slow, melodic guitar solo. Mother Wisdom retains the slower feel of the previous song, but adds some rock groove to the proceedings as the tight rhythm section drive everything forward. Seviour's vocals provide the main melodies, as the musical backing is often rather sparse, but there are some spacey synths throughout that add some sparkle and shimmer throughout. This is the case however until a slightly heavier instrumental section kicks in towards the end with a tough guitar riff and even more keyboards. It adds another dimension to the song, and helps it to remain interesting throughout.

The Dive returns to the slightly heavier feel of the opening few songs, with an upbeat guitar-led intro which features some melodic wordless vocals from Seviour. This is not a song that ever really lets the energy levels drop, as even the verses this time do not really pair things back too much, with fast keyboard riffs and swells of effects-heavy guitar. The choruses are fast, and very melodic, with a confident vocal performance and even some double bass drumming from Brown. While not a heavy album, it is good to see moments here where things move towards that territory somewhat. Seviour sings well over the rockier songs in my opinion, and it lets her break free a little and really let her hair down. A strong bluesy guitar solo provides extra melody here, and is one of the few moments where the pace slows down a little, before coming to a quiet end with Seviour's final chiming vocal line. Where She Sleeps is a piano ballad, and works well coming off the back of the heavier previous song. Mitchell is more known in the rock world as a guitarist, but he really is a man of many talents and proves this here with an excellent performance behind the piano. While the piano is the song's main instrumental, and often the song's only instrument, there is a section towards the end where the song builds up further with a strong symphonic backing with some rhythmic percussion. The album's title track follows, and again it opens up with some rolling piano melodies. I particularly like Seviour's vocal performance here, as she initially sings in a much lower register than she does usually and she raises the pitch of her voice gradually as the song moves forward. While not a ballad, the song is not exactly an out-and-out rocker either, and moves along at a nice pace with lots of strong melodies from various sources. The piano constantly stands out here, as to Seviour's vocals. At points she harmonises with herself which creates a surprisingly big sound that recalls some of the more epic tracks she participated in during her time with Touchstone. The album's final song Morning of the Soul carries on from the previous number in similar fashion with chiming keyboards and a driving bassline. In fact the album's two closing numbers are cut from the same cloth, so they seem to meld together into one big song. Some more prominent guitar playing does come in here too, with some heavier chugging sections and one final guitar solo too add a little piece of musical finesse towards the end. An excerpt from John Keats' poem To Hope is spoken towards the end to good effect, before a reprise of the song's chorus sees the album out to melodic close. Overall, Recovery is Learning is a strong start to Seviour's solo career, and one that is different enough from her work with Touchstone to make an obvious distinction between the two bodies of work. Obviously there are shades of her former band throughout these nine songs, but overall this feels like something new. Mitchell's influence is apparent however, and at times the album does feel a little too close to his Lonely Robot albums for it to have it's own true identity. I would like to see Seviour collaborate with a different people on her next album, if she does one, so she can really start to forge her own identity. That being said, this is still an impressive debut album from a great singer, and one that I can see myself enjoying a lot over the coming months.

The album was released on 28th July 2017 via White Star Records. Below is her promotional video for Chiasma.