Fresh Outlooks – Byorn Gold (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

“Fresh Outlooks” marks the start of another song cycle from the prolific Byorn Gold. His is a clever strategy, as we have seen with previous albums. The idea of releasing several EPs over a few months before bringing all those songs together in one long-playing album has worked well for him. It’s a chance for the listener to sonically road test, fully immerse themselves, and get familiar with the music before the final record, in this case, For My Children, Part 1, drops in a few months.

And, just as before, Byorn has written an album with very specific themes, as the album title suggests; this time, it is a celebration of and tribute to his own children. It is a personal subject but also a very relatable one. “Fresh Outlooks” is based around the earliest years, the excitement and experience of seeing your children enter the world and watching them grow and develop towards adulthood. And like the children it takes as its subject matter, this first EP also seems to evolve across its four songs, dynamically speaking.

“Welcome To This World” talks about the essential things in life, the character-building ideals of empathy and love and gratitude, a sonic mantra being sent out to a child that you are still to meet, an encapsulation of all the hopes that a parent has for this, yet perfect, unmoulded, child. It also talks of a sense of belonging and family, “On your own, you will be strong, but to find where you belong, you must find love and let love also find you.”

It gently opens the EP, a lilting, soulful ballad built of chiming guitars and heartfelt sentiment, restrained beats, and soft sonic textures.

“Heart Calm Down” is written from the parent’s point of view, again a supple and subtle musical piece and one that explores the joy and embrace of watching your children grow and understanding that these are, in the scheme of things, fleeting moments to be cherished, memories to be collected. Through its delicate weave, it threads a love of the simple pleasures in life, a place to retreat mentally and physically when life seems complicated, when the pressures of modern life build up, and a remembering of the things that matter.

And then things begin to rock up a bit. If the opener muses on the big yet less tangible aspects of the human condition, “Get it Done” reminds us that the simple, practical things get us through life that routine and order, whilst perhaps not being cool, make for a better life experience. This is put to a sassy rock-soul groover – basses bubble away, guitars meter out soulful licks and saxophone breezes and bounds through, a second voice responding to the lyrical call.

The final song sees the child heading towards adulthood and, as the name suggests, “The Most Adult Underage Person That I Know” is a celebration of a child ahead of their years, that wisdom that some children seem to be born with, a wisdom that many adults seem unable to grasp. It’s a true rocker, a salvo of blistering guitars and bluesy solos, funky drives and energetic vibes, and the perfect way to cap this sonic journey from birth towards childhood’s end.

As always, Byorn is giving us a story, although as is his way, it is so much more: an insight into family and love, a celebration of the circle of life and the first four musical chapters of a book you will all want to follow.

Stay tuned, folks!