At first listen I thought this would be similar to the JJ Cale nomination, however enjoyable as this was it’s not quite at the same level for me. Broadly speaking I like the eclectic mix of styles they combine but it’s a double edged sword because it’s hard to make an eclectic sound also seem coherent and in this case, though it made individual songs enjoyable, I think it worked against the album as a whole.
I thought the middle of the album was the strongest. Skin It Back, Spanish Moon and Feats Don’t Fail Me Now are all songs I would happily listen to on a regular basis. I quite like The Fan but though it starts interesting, I’m not sure it then goes anywhere. It’s not that I didn’t like the other tracks it’s just that bundled together it didn’t feel that compelling.
Given it had a similar(ish) vibe to the very popular JJ Cale nomination I’ve tried to work out why it didn’t speak to me as much as that did. I think it’s that, despite the variety on display on the Cale album, the songs are unified by a sense of space in the playing and the production which, along with Cale’s distinctive vocals, gave it a coherence that I felt this lacked. I did wonder whether the shared vocal duties on this album made it harder to get as a whole but I don't think that was particularly the case. The final medley summed up the issue for me, some very enjoyable playing but I wasn’t sure where it was going in totality.
Though it was missing something for me overall, it was a good nomination and I did enjoy it. A solid 6.5/10.
