It is an eclectic brew with an off-centre ethos, but it doesn't really reach out.
I've just been reading about the birth of the mp3 and its fight for prominence against the mp2. At the Fraunhofer facility, where it was being developed, robbers broke in one night and stole equipment from every section of the building, except the mp3 floor. Why you possibly ask? The answer, quite simply, is that it was the only place people were still working.
Making something your own, and concentrating absolutely on that, sometimes puts up a wall to listeners; your own vision can sometimes be a turn off. Bermondsey Joyrider Gary Lammin has produced an album of vision which touches lots of areas, it just doesn't have a strong central hook. There is a lot of atmosphere here, a precursor to something which should be special.
But what we get instead is Country Noir, with a lot of slide and a gritty narrative which tries to be Jah Wobble, adding a little Psych too, but making little difference. Only when you reach the sixth track do the songs begin to sound like bigger constructions, picking up quality until the ninth song, 'Hey Mr John Sinclair', reveals a soulful female vocal and honey dripping narrative over a rather thin but Funky backing. In addition, 'Is That Alright With You' has a late seventies vibe which works as well as it should.
In truth, this really delights only occasionally. It is an eclectic brew with an off-centre ethos, but it doesn't really reach out. Still sounds like a personal project...
Steve Swift
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