By the time I got to January, the second song on the album, I was hooked. It has a fantastic groove, relentless, dedicated and unwavering but lyrically it just reminded me of the depth and delicacy, poeticism and poise of someone like Leonard Cohen and at that point, I just hand over the money and write down a shipping address…well, in pre-online days I did anyway.
There are slightly wonky and angular moments such as A Clearing, growling indie in the form of Before The End and room for more acoustic fragility on songs like Chasing Ghosts. It’s a gorgeous collection of songs, able to wander between rock grunt and more considered grace, indie cool and folky charm.
And there is a wonderful directness and honesty to be found here that only happens when an artist is writing from personal experience, when hearts are being worn openly on sleeves, when you are being drawn into the creator’s confidence. This is less an album, more a conversation, it is about both creativity and acts as a confession…and it is magnificent.
