Andrew Combs - Canyons of My Mind

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 3 / 7 / 2017

---

With every new release of this kind, you keep wondering when they are going to stop finding undiscovered singer-songwriters from the 60s/70s whose masterpieces have inexplicably been kept locked away in the vaults for decades. Except… no wait… this one’s brand new. Andrew Combs is a young man who came to public note with his acclaimed 2015 album ‘All Is Dreams’ and has decided that his follow-up should take you back on a trip to the 1970s, when melancholic singer-songwriters could be lavished with the finest session musos in the land to crack out songs of heartbreak and loss. In some respects, ‘Canyons of My Mind’ could be dismissed as a throwback. But, who cares when it’s a throwback to a time when music was excellent – when, if you composed a mid-tempo, ballad called ‘Dirty Rain’, then you cut to a string quartet on the chorus and faded out to the sound of a storm. Or when, if you had a mid-tempo piano ballad that was crying out for an ELO-style guitar solo, that’s exactly what you got. Track after track hits the spot perfectly, with the switch up at the end of side one from the wistful lovelorn balled ‘Hazel’ to the glorious country-standard ‘Rose Coloured Blues’ set to become one of the standout musical moments of 2017. Everyone hangs around Combs’ vocals. Singing in a falsetto that settles just a notch above his natural pitch. He is the centre of attention on every track, despite the excellent production. Although these are melodies that demand a singalong, you’ll find your throat starts to croak a little if you turn the volume up too loud. As this excellent record draws to a close, you are reminded of that point when Richard Hawley realised how to make the music of his mind come alive (2003’s ‘Lowedges’). It’s clear that, like Hawley did for a few years, Andrew Combs may be sticking resolutely to tested musical formulas for now, but has the talent to push himself further in years to come. Until then, though, ‘Canyons of the Mind’ confirms the emergence of a major talent.

Track Listing:-

1 Heart of Wonder
2 Sleepwalker
3 Dirty Rain
4 Hazel
5 Rose Colored Blues
6 Better Way
7 Lauralee
8 Blood Hunters
9 Silk Flowers
10 Bourgeois King
11 What It Means to You

Band Links:-

https://twitter.com/andrew_combs
https://www.facebook.com/andrewcombsmusic

Label Links:-

http://loosemusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/loosemusic
https://twitter.com/looseMusic
http://www.last.fm/user/Loose_Music
https://www.youtube.com/loosemusic
https://instagram.com/loose_music/

Post A Comment

---

Comment

Name

your name

Location

ie London, UK

Submit

Check box to submit

Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson

Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart

Malcolm Carter
Marie Hazelwood
Mark Rowland
Nick Dent-Robinson
Nicky Crewe
Nige Nudds
Philamonjaro
Richard Lewis
Shirley Procter
Spencer Robertshaw
Steev Burgess
Steve Kinrade

Steve Miles
Tommy Gunnarsson
Zena Grieg