Bivouac Nick Frater

• 1 Wake Up Sleepyheads 00:44
• 2 The Town of Opportunities, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 02:38
• 3 Mean Vincent 00:57
• 4 The Town of Opportunities, Pt. 3 00:45
• 5 The Axe 01:10
• 6 Hello Monday! 02:26
• 7 Keep It Simple, Stupid 03:13
• 8 Heaven It Can Wait 02:38
• 9 Singing Kawai 00:38
• 10 Sixteen Houses 01:55
• 11 Will It Be Enough? 02:04
• 12 Walking The Dog 01:05
• 13 Don't Get Sentimental 03:28
• 14 Closing Time 04:44
• 15 Boom and Bust 03:01
• 16 Man Overload 01:21
• 17 The Town of Opportunities, Pt. 4 01:08
• 18 Maybe Marimbas 00:48
• 19 Step Into The Motorcar 02:48
• 20 Manifesto Man 01:21
• 21 Leave It To The City 04:07
• 22 Little Sister Moon 03:06
• 23 So Long, Sleepyheads 00:30
• Total Runtime 46:35

Info for Bivouac

Nick Frater's 11th studio album, Bivouac, emerges as a sophisticated pop masterpiece in his prolific discography.

Embarking on a thematic journey, it encapsulates the quest for solace in a woodland sanctuary amidst post-industrial Britain.

Drawing melodic echoes from Bacharach, Tillbrook, McCartney, and Rundgren, Frater's songcraft resonates deeply, particularly with devotees of Ram and Wizard a True Star. Across 23 impressive tracks, Bivouac adeptly melds power-pop, orchestral-pop, and prog intricacies, serving as a testament to Frater's creative dedication.

Embracing an ambitious collaborative spirit, he unites with melodic-rock luminaries including Roger Joseph Manning Jr.(Beck/Jellyfish), Luke Smith (Ulysses), and Joe Kane (The Poppermost), seamlessly intertwining these talents with authentic Radiophonic tape effects, Mellotron textures, and Pink Floyd's original Dark Side of the Moon synthesizer.

"A “bivouac” is defined as a temporary shelter where one is prepared to do battle, and Nick Frater isn’t afraid to shake things up with a concept album about the downfall of post-industrial Britain under successive generations of Tory government. Nick lets his orchestral pop genie out of the bottle with several song suites.

“The Town of Opportunities” is the first suite, with five parts that fit neatly together and the catchy earworm “Hello Monday!” Some instrumental touches remind me of Pet Sounds, from the kettle drums of “Keep It Simple, Stupid” to the harmonies on “Heaven It Can Wait.”

The tempo and style shift on “Will It Be Enough,” the second multi-part song suite, ending on the ballad “Don’t Get Sentimental.” An 80s classic rock vibe is all over the impressive “Boom and Bust,” and then we are on to the next suite. Along the way, you get more great singles like “Step Into The Motorcar.” Like Glenn Tillbrook or Paul McCartney, Nick knows how to craft musical stories and give the entire album a comfortable flow. He’s also added a bevy of talent to the studio, like Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Beck/Jellyfish), Luke Smith (Ulysses), and Joe Kane (The Poppermost). Overall, highly recommended." (powerpopaholic)

Nick Frater, Vocals, Wurlitzer EP200, Suzuki Omnichord, Philips Philichorda, Mellotron M400, Arp DGX, Moog Prodigy & Minimoog, Yamaha PS-55, Solina String Ensemble, Rickenbacker 4003, Squier Jazzmaster, Epiphone Casino, Hofner violin bass, Fender Mustang bass, Taylor acoustic, Harmony upright piano/prepared piano, Danelectro Longhorn bass, Squier Cabronita baritone guitar, August Förster grand piano, Premiere timpani, tubular bell, marimba, and hand percussion
Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Vocals
Joe Montague, Ludwig and Premiere drums, Amedia cymbals, Hofner violin bass, Premiere tubular bells, timpani, tam tam, and marching band percussion
Andy Pickering, Philips Philichorda, Fender Rhodes bass, Harmony upright piano, Wurlitzer EP200, Gibson J160e, Radiophonic tape effects
Chris Mulligan, Fender Stratocaster, Epiphone Casino, acoustic, pathfinding Mellotron
Jamie Whelligan, Vocals, Maton acoustic, Hofner violin bass, Squier Cabronita baritone guitar
Jake Smith, Fender Telecaster, Gibson SG, Rickenbacker 4003, Gibson J200
Derrick Coonghe, Selmer Mk VI Baritone and Tenor Saxophones
Cary Grace, EMS VCS3
Joff Hathaway, Axe
Joe Kane, Fire-bell
Scott Gagner, Transatlantic drums and cymbals
Alex Lewis, Vocals, spiritual guidance
Andy Thompson, Mellotron M400, Moog Minimoog, horse-whisperering at the synth sanctuary
Steven Wilson, Vocals
Danny Wilkerson, Vocals
Luke Smith, Greco Rickenfaker, Moog Minimoog, Mellotron M400, Arp DGX, percussion
Tom Shotton, Premier drums, Zildjian cymbals
Lenny Smith, Percussion, cosmic dancing

Nick Frater
stands out on a modern pop landscape populated by innumerable prolific self-professed polymaths by virtue of not having to profess anything about himself at all. The critics and tastemakers of the indie-pop world are more than happy to do it for him: his recent release Earworms was 2021's Album of the Year at Powerpopaholic. The previous year's Fast & Loose won Frater a five-star review, and a citation as a “pop tunesmith par excellence,” in Britain's revered Shindig! Magazine. And 2019's Full Fathom Freight-Train earned the Album of The Year honor from International Pop Overthrow, with all three adorning countless other Year's Best lists worldwide: Earworms alone ranked in the Top 20 with pop scene influencers in the US, UK, Canada, Italy, Sweden and Argentina. His new release for 2022, AERODROME MOTEL, is poised to not only follow the same flightpath but to inevitably see Nick soaring to even loftier heights.

British multi-instrumentalist and producer Nick Frater lives in a land of 60s/70s sophisticated-pop, a self-confessed obsession with vintage recording techniques, and a ‘more is more’ approach to production. Based in Croydon, England, Frater’s music has drawn frequent comparisons to Bacharach, as well as Cheap Trick, Jellyfish, The Beatles and Elliott Smith. A prolific songwriter and music creator, Nick Frater has released ten albums over the last decade, all of which have received the type of critical acclaim cited above as well as ever-growing international airplay.

Were his acclaimed adventures in the classic pop idiom not enough to cement his reputation as a true Renaissance Man, recent years have seen Frater release several adventurous side-projects to complement what he calls his ‘normal albums’ each year. There's been 59 Vignettes (2020) - the world’s first Instagram concept album. 59 original miniature songs, accompanied by 59 films made from 8mm footage found in junk shops. And Earworms was accompanied by the beyond-clever meta-satire of The Rebutles (2021), which saw Nick (and some heavy friends) envisioning the solo careers of The Rutles. And this year sees the completion of The Croydon Project (2022) - an illustrated retro-futurist concept album of library-music about his South London hometown’s post-war regeneration.

Proudly immersed in the DIY music scene, Frater has become something of a ‘songwriter’s songwriter’ collaborating with several luminaries of the melodic-rock world such as Roger Joseph Manning Jr (Beck/Jellyfish), Darian Sahanaja (Brian Wilson/Wondermints), Johnny Echols (Love), Mike Randle (Love/Baby Lemonade) and Dana Countryman. Signed to legendary independent label Big Stir Records (his words, not ours!), Nick Frater also works as a producer under the pseudonym Great Sheiks. He has produced albums and projects for artists including Chris Farlowe, The Armoires, Do Me Bad Things, Whelligan, The Sweat, Annexe The Moon, and The Rosemary Works. Frater appears as musician on countless projects, notably as live keyboardist for Love (Forever Changes tours 2019 and 2022), and he even worked a night as Ray Davies’ guitar technician.

This album contains no booklet.