Gentle Country rock and very little else.
"A day, an hour of virtuous liberty, is worth a whole eternity in bondage." [Joseph Catto].
I'm not sure Joseph was talking about this liberty. This one is worth about half an hour of your time. 6 albums in and with influences as diverse as Neil Hannon, classical and punk chops, 80s Hair sounds, Dave is giving us gentle Country rock and very little else.
He may put flowers in his hair to begin on 'Settling', oddness triumphing over Folkish whimsy and some truly tremulous vocal takes, but follow ups are brought to us by the letter O, Roy Orbison's laid back, rather anodyne sound, Country touches, only 'Damn Butterflies' has the strength to allow the guitars to scratch a little, to lean back on a 70s MOR vibe. Other than that, an attempt to beef up the guitars is a lesson in overreaching, although the Good Ol' Boys shuffle and jaunty energy of 'Fifteen Minutes From Now' makes a break for freedom.
There is simply not enough to keep us here, no hook, little memorable quavers or crochets. Even a demi quaver would have been something. Liberte, Egalite? No, is only just OK.
..
Steve Swift