music reviews
‘Witness’ is a debut album rich in splendour and an honesty that belies the raw, uncompromising talent bestowed upon its creator. Brent Shuttleworth has produced an album of sincerity and self-exploration to rival any of his influential predecessors. Expertly produced and mastered, it’s the perfect platform for an artist of Shuttleworth’s ability - both vocally and lyrically.
‘Love, to be real, must cost, it must hurt, it must empty us of self’ is a quotation used in the album’s sleeve notes and, in truth, could not be more appropriate. He writes with an almost unbearable clarity and truth as he bares his soul to the listener. ‘Helpless’ sees Shuttleworth profess to an overwhelming anxiety of a life bereft of love and its assurances (When you come around / I would give anything / When you come around / I fall apart helplessly). This anxiety is evident once again on title-track ‘Witness’ as Shuttleworth shows a longing for protection and safety (When I’m broken and I’m fading / I need a witness / When I’m beaten and I’m bleedin’ / Love give me a witness) but it’s his urbane and mature vocal that counteracts against the hopelessness and suggests a new-found sense of strength and vitality.
Perseverance and no small amount of courage has seen Shuttleworth produce an accomplished debut album - one that may prove a tough act to follow. But with that voice, and the ability to plumb agonisingly emotional depths, you certainly wouldn’t bet against him.
www.brentshuttleworth.com
Its apparent from the opening track of ‘Only Chimneys’ - a fourth offering from the much-acclaimed Brooklyn-based group Imaginary Johnny - that the band have found a sense of stability and fulfilment with their new sound having taken a dramatic change in direction over the years. Once an electronic-driven solo project, the band now embody all the characteristics of a resurgent rock group brimming with vitality and purpose. ‘Fleas’ - the ferocious opening track - is a punchy, drum-laden opener that, combined with Stuart Wolferman’s strained vocal, serves as a powerful, introductory anthem to what could be their finest album to date.
Lyrically, the band have been revitalised and are now writing with importance and vigour. Collective insecurities are dealt with in graphic detail on ‘Tiny Moving Parts’ as Wolferman professes (Maybe it’s my age and maybe it ain’t / But lately when I walk the ground seems to shake / When the cracks in the ground are bigger than my thumb / I know that’s when my enemies will come). ‘It’ll Burn’ is a frenetic, three-minute’s worth of perseverance that perfectly symbolises the band’s tangible new approach to song-writing closing with a line of poignancy and reflection (A short burst and we float up to the sun / Yes, it’ll gloriously burn).
To balance out the insistent nature of the album’s opening, the band bring forth a subtle change of pace midway through with ‘Falling Into Itself’ and ‘Duct Tape’ - tracks that summon feelings of anxiety and desperation (Duct tape won’t do it this time / No matter how you cut it / Is your mother taking it hard?). The album as a whole boasts some solid production work - as well as a collaboration of songs that the band can feel truly proud of.
www.imaginaryjohnny.com
|
The only problem with this debut effort from New York outfit The Memories is that you’re left wanting more of it. The four-piece have produced a beautiful thirteen-minute EP that perfectly captures the traditions of great pop/rock music before injecting their own insight and personality to the genre.
Sameer Tolani’s outstanding vocal performance, reminiscent of the Kings of Leon’s Caleb Followill, is full of Southern lethargy and compliments the gentle burn of tracks like ‘Scraps of Heaps’ and the EP’s closing track ‘Standby’ in which he declares (If you standby me / I will standby you / And maybe one day we’ll see the sun). ‘Radio Brown Brown’ - the opening track - is one of spirit and urgency, hastily building to a crescendo of harsh, unrelenting guitar and drum work and shows off some of the band’s more profound imagery with a tale of a historical young war hero (I was born for making history / Was wading in the swamp / ‘Til true love came along / Sailed the seas, I sailed the seven seas / The people don’t look much like me / But the soldier’s sure do / Who knew?).
The worry with an EP release is that the band may never accrue enough material to follow up with a substantial LP offering but The Memories certainly have enough about them to suggest this won’t be another false dawn. Like all great memories, they’ll be back.
www.myspace.com/thememoriesband
|
Blessed with as soulful a voice as you could hope to find today, John West’s fantastic new album ‘12 Dollars’ exudes a sensuality and confidence untypical of an artist so young. The album boasts fluency throughout and the tracks bleed together effortlessly - built to perfectly compliment West’s soft, yet stunning, vocal style and delicate guitar work.
As is customary with many soul albums of the past, the emphasis of ‘12 Memories’ is based upon our relationships with loved ones, both past and present. The subtle variation with this twelve track album is West’s flair for writing for the modern era. Relationships are seldom as easy but on ‘Like a Lady’ West refuses to shy away from the darker moments (Baby, you used to tell me sweet things / Remember this? A little kiss? But now you’re acting so mean / This ain’t something you’ve got to be putting me through).
But, of course, at the heart of it all you are left with love, passion and all the irrational things it encourages us to do - something West is evidently schooled in. ‘Loved You Tonight’ wonderfully captures the romance of a budding relationship (We’ve been in love before, haven’t we? / But past loves are like past lives it seems to me / We don’t have to fear this moment / We can go slow, see where this goes, ‘cos you never know but in the meantime / Would you mind if I told you I loved you tonight?)
‘12 Dollars’, with all its fabulously produced and expertly crafted songs, encapsulates that Summer mood and looks set to shine brightly in the coming months.
www.myspace.com/johnwestisafriendofmine
|
| |
Brent Shuttleworth 
Imaginary Johnny
