A big thumbs up to this, Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire’s debut album.
Whilst Roddy has already released several solo albums, this one really ups the game. The band comprises Roddy Hart on vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano; Scott Clark on bass; Scott Mackay on drums; John Martin on electric guitar, vocals; Geoff Martyn on piano, hammond organ, wurlitzer, vocals, and Gordon Turner on electric guitar, vocals.
What initially struck me about this album, was how vast the music sounds. This is definitely the sort of album that has a wide scope. The opening track, ‘Days Are Numbered’ is typical of the album, and starts off with keyboards, before drawing the listener into an anthemic rock song. The publicity blurb states that lyrically, Roddy dwells upon themes of death, desolation, religion and loss, and this is certainly true of this track.
It begins almost as a lament, before becoming an uplifting celebration of life: -“If I die here in the cold, cover me in rags of gold/ With the wild beasts of the hunt, and our days are numbered/ I can feel it in my shirt, I can see it in my work/ With the wild beasts of the hunt, and our days are numbered/So let’s kick the night alive.”
This is followed by the single ‘Cold City Avalanche’, which is a great track, but pales into insignificance when placed against ‘The Ghost Of Love’, a mournful ditty with funereal keyboards and echoing drums. The lyrics here are absolutely spot on: -“Oh, ghost of love why do you haunt me? Why do you haunt me in the night?/ I’ve had enough of your confusions, tricks and illusions of the light/ I followed you through the tombs of men, I found myself at your judge again. I’m looking for someone to come and raise me/ Rid me of the ghost of love.”
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With an album like this, it’s not all doom and gloom. ‘Bright Light Fever’ is a fast choppy new wave number that brings to mind bands like The Knack, although once again, Roddy can’t get away from what appears to be his favourite subject – death: -“Looking back for good, the funeral wake/ Mourners in corners crying into the cake/ This is so depressing that I wanna get out of here/ I’ve had enough of death and destruction to last a year.”
Well, you may have, Roddy, but we certainly haven’t. More like this please!
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