It’s been a long time coming, but Gecko has finally released his sophomore album Climbing Frame!
Gecko is an absolute gem of a musician that I had the pleasure of seeing perform in a ruin of a chapel in London before I even knew he had graced the stage at So Far in my home turf in Auckland, New Zealand.
He’s a just a completely different breed of musician to any other I have ever come across. Gecko gets up in front of an audience and leaves them uncertain whether or not they’ve just seen a comedian spin them into fits of laughter, or a thoughtful singer songwriter leave them introspective for the evening. Listening through Climbing Frame is no different.
Gecko starts off the album with his playful single “Can’t know all the songs”, a fun jab at people who always expect every musician to have an encyclopedic knowledge of their own musical taste. We’ve already had the delight of reviewing this song, if you want to read more check out what Isla had to say here!
This is then juxtaposed with the title track “Climbing Frame”, which is a beautiful take on children’s ability to take a bad situation and take a creative, fun spin on it. This song “tells the story of a tree that had fallen down in a storm in the middle of Queens Park. Without a seconds thought, it had become a new climbing frame for the kids who frequented the park.” Gecko muses that “there’s hope that the youngest people in this world will turn the apocalyptic hand that they’ve been dealt into something positive that we have not yet seen.”
The album also throws perspectives at you that you wouldn’t expect. “Laika” tells the story of the first dog sent into space but the Russian space programme to become a “distant canine, drifting in space time”. The song is playful in nature, but delves into an oddly relatable existential crisis of a dog who is riddled with self doubt and not feeling worthy to be sent to space. Although Laika thinks “I guess the sooner I go, the sooner I can come home”, the song twinges at the heart strings with the sad reality that this was a one way trip for Laika.
“A Whole Life” tells the endearing story of a younger Gecko explaining to Nursery kids how difficult his first year at school was and the importance of not calling your teacher mum. The song progresses through life always telling a younger gecko that although you “might not want things to change” you must grow up, and that there’s a whole life ahead. The song touches on the difficulties in each stage of life, but how each stage is bearable, and that we get through it. It’s a reassuring sentiment, especially in times such as these.
Gecko’s first album was called ‘Album of the year’ in the Morning Star, and his music has taken him across the world from Stockholm to over here in lil old New Zealand. We wish all the more success to Gecko in his future endeavours, and look forward to seeing more music come through.
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