 |
|
0 items in your cart, sadly. |
David Thomas Broughton
|
|
Description: | CD on Brainlove |
|---|---|---|
| Format: | CD | |
| Genre(s): | Singer-Songwriter, Folk/Folk Rock | |
| Label: | Brainlove | |
| Price: |
£9.69
|
|
| Availability: | In stock. Dispatched in 1 working day. |
...according to our Mike on 30 June 2011.
Me and David Thomas Broughton go way back. I don't know him personally, understand, but he started off round these parts so he used to be a pretty regular fixture at local DIY shows. My old band once played a gig with him and Herman Dune, and another band I was in recorded at Ghost Town just after he did so we got a sneak preview of his first album, 'The Complete Guide to Insufficiency' about a year before it came out (and once it did I listened to it pretty obsessively). That combination of folk traditions and modern experimental production made for a record which I maintain is one of the best post-rock-type releases of recent years. This one, however, is an entirely different collection. Gone are the slow-building loops of guitar and vocals building to solo symphonies, as this time round he's got a backing band (including Billy Mahonie sticksman Howard Monk) and he's doing more straightforward songwriter fare. Don't fear, though, this record is still utterly charming. The songwriting and delivery do actually bring to mind the aforementioned Herman Dune, but his John Martynesque vocals do ensure that this comes across as something entirely distinct, it just has that same comforting, playful feel to it. Towards the end of this collection 'Onwards We Trudge' has a bit of manipulation and loopery going on which is very welcome because I've always kind of seen that (along with his distinctive voice) as kind of his trademark. The closer 'Joke' is a bit of a surprise, too...certainly the most upbeat thing I've heard from this man, with its Motown-influenced songwriting and handclaps and gang backing vocals it has an almost doo-wop feel to it. The bonus track, a live version of opener 'River Lay', seems a little bit pointless because it's much the same as the studio version but not as well recorded. That aside, however, this record is totally charming and I can see it becoming a bit of a staple for me in the near future. Perhaps not as much as that classic debut of his did, but what he's lost in uniqueness here he makes up for in accessibility, and I imagine it'll do wonders for his profile. Guardian readers are gonna go nuts for it.
The second album proper by well-established cult star David Thomas Broughton. Arriving on stage like a fully paid-up member of the nu-folk fraternity, Broughton proceeds to baffle and beguile, starting songs with beautiful refrains, engulfing them in feedback and noise, then removing the layers one by one to reveal once again the beauty beneath. Beloved of the broadsheet-folk fraternity, a regular at festivals like Green Man and End Of The Road, and an emerging mainstream star with attention from NME and MOJO, David Thomas Broughton is a cult star emerging into a wider audience with his most accessible release to date. His SXSW performances left audiences reeling, and attention from Prefix, Pitchfork and a host of US labels follow. When people "get" DTB, they are fans for life.
1. River Lay 2. Apologies 3. Nature 4. Perfect Louse 5. Potential Of Our Progeny 6. Staying True 7.Electricity 8. Ain’t Got No Sole 9. Onwards We Trudge 10. Joke 11. River Lay (live rehearsal)
