Second Thought - Since Every Hour Is Too Late
01. The Day You Left
02. Birdsongs for Lucy, I: Magpie
03. Birdsongs for Lucy, II:Goosander
04. Birdsongs for Lucy, III: Tawny Owl
05. Burbage Park, for Dad
06. Peter Pig
07. Glebe Road, 1998. Rain
08. Untitled for four pianos
09. Birdsongs for Lucy, IV: Stonechat
10. Mip and Bella, for Mum
11. May
Since Every Hour Is Too Late was an album I had been planning for many years, dating back to the recording of Vacuum Road Songs. However, it was not until late 2009, after experimenting with string sounds on Safernoc, that I felt ready to record it. Begun as a series of compositions for piano and string quartet, each a musical portrait of a bird written for my fiancée, the album expanded into a general reflection of my mood at the time, with many pieces referencing parts of my childhood, and an overall feeling of a melancholic nostalgia. Most of the album was composed for these instruments, as I had been wanting to for quite some time, although in the end, synthetic sounds were used rather than live instruments, due to a lack of any string-playing friends or money to hire a quartet. Furthermore, a few electronic ambient pieces with a similar theme made the final cut. For the first time, I used field recordings merely to punctuate the album (I decided to follow each bird portrait by the particular bird's song, for example) rather than acting as a focus. Overall, the album sounds considerably different to other Second Thought records, working as a series of individual - if related - pieces rather than a flowing soundscape. This influenced my decision to use my father's beautiful photography for the artwork, as any newly taken pictures of my own would feel out of place or contrived.
Despite the personal content and emotional difficulties that inspired much of the album's recording, Since Every Hour is Too Late is still an album I enjoy, and May is possibly my favourite of all Second Thought pieces. Because of its personal nature, I chose to self-release the album on Jerky Oats Records.
As of September 2011, the CDr edition of the album has been out of print. However, I have kept the album available as a 'name your price' download through Bandcamp.