Sunday 15 February 2009

Review - Lloyd (UK) - Pain of Life

Lloyd (UK) - Pain of Life

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10 out of 10

Singer-songwriters, not so long ago they were ten a penny in the chart, all the rage and most of them came from the folk school of thought. Katie Melua, KT Tunstall, Nora Jones, Laura Viers and (I kid you not) Minnie Driver. Oh and a lot of them were women as well. In my view it's about time we saw some male artists in this category come to the fore and being honest, I think Lloyd could be the man to unleash such a wave.

There are five tracks that comprise this release, each of them significantly different from the last (unlike a lot of releases) ensuring you don't get bored. At near enough 25 minutes this is a brief EP; however the diversity in the music ensures that you can stick it on repeat for a few hours. So what are you in for? Well a beautiful blend of soul, funk, and melodic pop and light rock. Good examples would be 'Red Blood Sky', oozing cool with rock riffs and infectious funk fueled bass lines and 'Sundown' which comes across with slow country edged pop, not to distant from some of David Gray's stuff. And that's before we get to the Procol Harum & Hollies tinted pining of 'Not Now'. This may sound like it's a bit strung out and badly drawn together, trying to show a wide and varied influence. You'd be wrong; Lloyd has evidently spent his time wisely honing his craft and pulls off this release with an ease that only the best can.

Gripes? I've a couple. The first is that no one has signed this guy yet, I want to know why not, and this is certainly going to get airplay if it gets to the right channels. Secondly this release is short and yet it begs to be longer by a good ten minutes. On the other hand it certainly wets my appetite for the next release.

It's very rare I give a top score, if I ever have but I have to say that if you never buy another release as long as you live; make sure you get this because it's sublime.

Listen: www.myspace.com/lloydmusic

Tracklist:
1. Red Blood Sky
2. Sundown
3. Pain Of Life
4. Not Now
5. Border

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