Review: Peter Hammill – Sitting Targets (1981)

Sitting Targets is Peter Hammill’s tenth solo album.

Peter Hammill is best known as the lead vocalist of the band Van der Graaf Generator, which he founded, but by the early 1980s he had already built up an extensive and high-quality catalog of solo albums under his own name. And a large portion of these records were, as their designation suggests, specifically solo albums, since Hammill usually played nearly all the instruments on his records by himself. This was particularly evident in Hammill’s experimental “trilogy” from the late 1970s—The Future Now, pH7, and A Black Box—which feature very few guest musicians. After A Black Box, however, Hammill decided to move toward a more straightforward style and was interested in emulating the sound of a typical rock band rather than that of a one-man orchestra.

Hammill didn’t assemble an actual band for the album; rather, Sitting Targets—like its predecessors—is still largely performed by Hammill himself. However, drummer Guy Evans, horn player David Jackson, percussionist Morris Pert—known from Brand X and Mike Oldfield’s band—and Phil Harrison, who plays the Synclavier on three tracks, were brought in to provide backing. Hammill himself plays guitars, bass, keyboards, and operates the drum machines. Throughout the album, Hammill proves himself to be a surprisingly good bass guitarist. His bass lines may not be particularly complex, but they often play a central role and are quite melodic. And they’re always extremely musical. The bass guitar’s sound also has a suitably gritty, rumbling quality.

Stylistically, Sitting Targets partly continues in the new wave-meets-avant-garde vein of its predecessors, though it is clearly a more straightforward and edgier album. Instead of experimental soundscapes, the songs on Sitting Targets are, for the most part, rock songs through and through. If not quite full-blooded rock, then almost. The haziest and most experimental moments from previous albums are largely absent, replaced by tight, aggressive, and at times truly catchy songs. The song lengths also stay within pop standards, with only the title track exceeding five minutes.

Read also: Review: Peter Hammill – The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage (1974)

The songs on Sitting Targets are brilliant across the board. The title track, “Breakthrough,” “My Experience,” and “Empress’s Clothes” are especially fantastic. Hammill’s vocal performances are once again a joy to listen to. Then again, they usually are. Still, it feels like Hammill is in particularly top form on this album. Perhaps the more straightforward material than usual makes singing easier.

The most powerful track on the album is its title track. “Sitting Targets,” which begins with menacing broken chords, evolves into an alternating exchange of electric guitar and saxophone riffs, and the entire song is defined by a magnificent, relentless, and unyielding drive. It is one of the finest songs of Peter Hammill’s career.

Another clear highlight of the album is the punky ”My Experience,” which opens with synthetic clapping; its charmingly catchy chorus is backed by a carnival-like, looping melody. Hammill’s gritty vocal performance provides a contrast.

“Breakthrough” captivates with its rich, enticing bass lines, the ingenious use of synthesizers, and Hammill’s chillingly soaring and descending vocals in the verses.

“Empress’s Clothes” is somewhat reminiscent of the atmosphere of Peter Gabriel’s third album. The primitively chugging drum machines in the song bring to mind some steam-powered contraptions from the dawn of the industrial age. Jackson’s saxophone blows in the background, at times with an atmospheric haze and at other times with fierce riffs. Morris Pert’s marimba rounds out the song here and there.

The semi-acoustic and gentle—yet not at all saccharine—ballad “Ophelia” stands out from the rest of the album. “Ophelia” delightfully lightens the mood of the album, which is generally quite intense.

“Central Hotel,” the album’s closing track, isn’t one of my personal favorites, but it became a huge live favorite in the years that followed. “Central Hotel” kicks off with a powerful hard rock riff. However, the song doesn’t fall too deeply into the clichés of that genre, because Hammill doses out his meandering, winding riff just right so you never get tired of it. Jackson’s gritty saxophone interludes are also a delight.

Here and there, there are still references to the hazy, experimental atmospheres of previous albums, such as “Glue”—a track driven by a drum machine and a jerky bass riff, colored by textural electric guitar work—which would have fit well on, say, A Black Box. “What I Did,” on the other hand, combines the experimental buzz of previous albums with the more energetic and straightforward style of Sitting Targets fairly successfully, even though, as a composition, it represents the album’s least significant offering.

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In my opinion, Sitting Targets deserved at least as much attention as the early solo albums of his kindred spirit, Peter Gabriel, but understandably, even at his most straightforward, Hammill is harder for the general public to swallow than Gabriel is at his most experimental.

The material from Sitting Targets inspired Hammill to form a rock band to perform it live. The band, which featured Guy Evans (drums), Nic Potter (bass), and John Ellis (electric guitar) alongside Hammill, was named K Group. Hammill’s subsequent albums, Enter K and Patience, delved even deeper into a band sound with this lineup. Those records perhaps veered just a touch too close to mainstream rock. Sitting Targets, however, successfully balanced Hammill’s distinctive solo album sound with a more traditional rock sound and is, in my opinion, one of the best albums of Peter Hammill’s extensive career. Sitting Targets is an almost perfect, hard-hitting art rock album.

Best tracks:  ”Breakthrough”, ”My Experience”, ”Hesitation”, “Empress’s  ”Sitting Targets”, Clothes”

Rating: 5 out of 5.
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI

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Tracks

  1. ”Breakthrough” 4:01
  2. ”My Experience” 3:20
  3. ”Ophelia” 3:16
  4. ”Empress’s Clothes” 4:07
  5. ”Glue” 3:49
  6. ”Hesitation” 4:11
  7. ”Sitting Targets” 5:27
  8. ”Stranger Still” 5:00
  9. ”Sign” 3:50
  10. ”What I Did” 3:43
  11. ”Central Hotel” 4:42

Musicians

Peter Hammill: vokaalit, kitarat, bassokitara, koskettimet, rumpukoneet Guy Evans: rummut (1,2,6,7,9) David Jackson: saksofoni, huilu (tracks: 4,6,7,11) Morris Pert: perkussiot (4,7,10) Phil Harrison: syntetisaattorit (3,8,9)

Producer: Peter Hammill
Label: Virgin

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