The cover of this single shows a photo of a man with an acoustic guitar so I think we must be in singer songwriter territory. The single does however have a full band backing and their playing supports Ruarri’s reverb-laden performance rather well. The ‘picking’ is excellent and reminiscent of Ralph McTell. The mix generally is good and the drums gently march us through these woody dreams.
The lyrics and vocals are tinged with melancholy yet at the same time there is a raw hope in his outer register. In fact, perhaps there is some conflict between the emotion of his voice and the lyrical message? Or maybe the problem lies between verse vocals that speak clearly of a relationship and the slightly more abstract chorus vocals? Neither of these things take away from what is essentially a gentle and memorable lament.
|
Surely the best way to evaluate a traditional songwriter such as this is in an acoustic live setting so check him out at his upcoming gigs to see if he can live up to the promise of this single.
Ruarri Joseph on MySpace
|
