Vinny Peculiar - Return Of The Native

 (This review first appeared in issue #89 of Shindig! magazine.)

Few writers mix humour and poignancy as well as Mr Peculiar. While Bowie, Reed and Iggy took inspiration from '70 Berlin, here we have songs rooted in '70s Worcestershire. Take 'The Singing Schoolteacher', a moving tribute to Clifford T. Ward who taught at Peculiar's Bromsgrove school for a year before pursuing his musical career. Such nostalgic reminiscences inform much of the lyrics – picture a teenage Peculiar devouring Melody Maker and NME, soaking up influences from an era that straddles the tail-end of prog, through to glam, punk and disco.

The locations may be specific but the experiences will chime universally. Be it local school rivalries played out on bus rides home, laments for lost music venues or the love life of an English civil war battle re-enactor, Peculiar has the ability to make you laugh out loud one minute then have you wiping a tear away the next. A delight.

 

Lee Fields and The Expressions - It Rains Love

(This review first appeared in issue #89 of Shindig! magazine.)

Fields has been making records since 1969 so it comes as no surprise that he can put together a class soul album. His latest is more of a Sunday morning record rather than a Saturday night party platter, with themes of thanks, love and both romantic and religious devotion. Then of course there's that voice. It ranks with the best – James Brown, Otis Redding and Levi Stubbs. But comparisons are meaningless given the conviction with which he sings. 

A great singer still needs a band of course, and the Expressions are on excellent form throughout. Standout moments? There are many - the attention grabbing middle eight in 'Bless With The Best', the infectious bass-driven groove of the title track, or 'Wake Up' with its dub feel and lyrics that fight back against fake news. For all the vintage soul classicism there's enough new moves to keep any neophiles satisfied too. Masterful.

 

Monks Road Social - Lost In Rasa / So Long Soho (Ltd. 7")

(This review first appeared in issue #89 of Shindig! magazine.)

 

Two standout tracks from the collective's recent debut album Down The Willows. 'Lost In Rasa' features lead vocals by Dr. Robert of the Blow Monkeys. It's string-laden stoner soul at its finest. Think Marvin Gaye on the cover of What's Going On – face turned to the rain but always in search of beauty. A song full of sad yet dreamy reflections and longings.

The flipside features Pat Dam Smyth on lead vocals. A name new to many though he has history having left his native Northern Ireland over 20 years ago to follow a nomadic musical existence. Spells in Dublin, Liverpool, Los Angeles, Berlin and London have led to the worldly wisdom that informs 'So Long Soho', a lament to a quickly fading bohemian enclave. Imagine Ray Davies in a sentimental mood at the pub piano, then join in on the singalong chorus. Monks Road is where it's at!

 

Erland Dahlen - Bones

An immersive listening experience. Norwegian percussionist releases fourth solo LP. 

 

On a recent episode of Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, the author David Mitchell spoke about one of his record choices as making him feel emotions he didn't know existed and making him feel nostalgic for times and places he doesn't even know. I may have got the wording slightly wrong there but hopefully you get a sense of the sentiment. I'm reminded of this quote while listening to the new album by Erland Dahlen, a much respected percussionist within free-jazz circles in his native Norway. Bones is Dahlen's fourth album, having previously released Rolling Bomber (2012), Blossom Bells (2015), and Clocks (2018).

You would think that the tendency for drummers as bandleaders would be to make virtuosity and showiness the central feature when it comes to recording. (I'm reminded here of a Gene Krupa/Buddy Rich LP I picked up at a charity shop, where the two pitch up against each other. It's a fine record but its emotional resonance is hampered by the desire to show off chops.) Thankfully that's not the case here – Bones is all about the emotional journey. Meditative, hypnotic, at times soothing, always immersive.

Dahlen plays pretty much all the music himself, which features a broad range of drums and percussion instruments along with Mellotron, modular synths, dulcimer and zither. The album has a rich instrumental palette, and one that embraces experimentation – along with the vintage drum skins used there are musical saws and the sound of marbles rattling on a plate. Also notable is the use of heavy reverb, which along with the virtuosic drumming and focus on emotion makes for a compelling one-sitting listening experience, full of progression and forward movement.

The last year has been one of increased solitude for many, a time when if you've been lucky enough to stay healthy and solvent there's been an opportunity to take yourself on an inner journey. A record such as Bones is a perfect soundtrack for such moments of reflection. It's an album that requires you to turn off the phone, TV, and tablets, to put on some headphones and let the music take you somewhere.

Click here for Hubro Records