Lyrics can be quite distracting when you think about it. They’re the first thing you notice about the song and they are the key to giving information when it comes to what the song is actually. To me, they’re the most prominent thing about most of the music I get into. A great voice can mask a bad band at times, but a terrible voice will cloud your experience of a song. It was bad singing that killed off The Stone Roses. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the instruments, it’s just that they’re often not the first thing I think of when making a snap judgement about something.
Manchester’s JOHN FAIRHURST is perhaps one of the hardest working musicians out there right now – check out his Myspace for a full rundown of the thousands of gigs he has lined up over the next few weeks. It’s a show that has been impressing Manchester crowds for quite some time now, winning over people with his accomplished, engaging performances that command you to get lost in the sounds. For his debut album he has brought with him a multitude of other instruments to let the music do the talking for him.
Joys of Spring is an album celebrating the guitar in its’ many forms. It takes you on eleven separate journeys. They are distinct compositions that act like a show-reel for the guitar – showing the world that there’s more to this life than three chords and a catchy chorus. At times country, at others blues, and at others again it tackles pop music, with the melody coming from the strings. This album should make anyone playing generic riffs either give up or get creative. Other instruments making an appearance on this eclectic collection are the pliers, pan lid and the washboard. It’s DIY music on a whole new level – and without the words, everything is up for interpretation.
The titles often guide the mood – ‘Shivver’ is as eerie as the title suggests. It is a sinister little number and it does make you think of the dark, of something that might be out there. It’s enough to make the imagination run wild. ‘On the Run’ evokes the idea of a chase, possibly a car chase, but even better, one on horses - ideally through the desert if I had my way. ‘At the River’ has summer stamped all over it – this one is for having fun in the summer. The tone is frolicking, which is not a word I use lightly.
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‘Friends’ is a highly cerebral tune that would sound perfect at Glastonbury. In fact, the whole album would. ‘Passing Time’ made me think about thinking – it’s the sound of a hundred things running around your mind whilst you stay still and relaxed. Like a peaceful moment in a hectic world. ‘Obnox Stamp’ is a funky little number and a great first track – a song that you could dance to surprisingly easily. It’s a foot-tapper from the outset, but gets louder. It’s an exploratory song, that always returns to the same riff, that greets you like a familiar friend within minutes. ‘How far How Fast’ sums up a lot of what is good about this album – it brings together an orchestral composition through the guitar, which is an instrument often overlooked when it comes to truly classical playing.
One of the highest compliments I can pay this album is that I love to write to it. It occurs around you at times, and others it completely takes you away. You can relax to it or get completely lost in it. ‘They’ say a picture can paint a thousand words, well these songs can create short films with narratives, whilst barely saying a word throughout. This is my own interpretation – you make your own story from it, just don’t change the soundtrack whatever you do.
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