STYLE: Blues RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 153249-22397 LABEL: Independent FORMAT: Digital Only Album RELEASE DATE: 2014-09-15
Reviewed by Oscar Hyde
Scottish multi-instrumentalist Lins Honeyman - known to regular Cross Rhythms readers as both a blues singer and a reviewer/journalist - embarked on a project with on-line collective Tunesmiths: each member of the collective had to write and record a piece of music with a predetermined style or theme. This album collects 13 of these disparate compositions rather haphazardly, picking up an idea, running with it for a couple of minutes, then changing partners for an entirely new tune. "Ocean Scenes", a beautiful suite shifting through representations of the ocean's surface, depths and beaches, is by far the longest track, at five and a half minutes; not a single other song reaches three minutes in length. But these brief genre experiments haven't downsized on fun. "1940s Wartime Dancehall Blues" is a pitch-perfect imitation of the titular ukulele-based style; "God Bless Richard Dawkins" cheekily pokes fun at new atheist conceptions of religion; "Mini Minuet" recreates Minuet in G with a Casio and other miniature instruments; "Natural Rhythm" celebrates nature by creating a beat out of stones, sticks and even a tree trunk. The whole thing, though scattershot, is imaginative, creative and definitely worth checking out if you have any interest in genre-hopping.
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