Albums

Album Review: Andy Grant

[Album: Hole In The Sky]
[Label: Unsigned]

The last few years has seen the often sudden rise of many male singer-songwriters, from the likes of Jack Johnson and José González, to artists such as Newton Faulkner and Seasick Steve. I recall not so long ago that Newton Faulkner was scheduled to play both a venue with a capacity of around 300 and a few months later one that had a capacity fourfold. It shows that any accomplished player with a lot of hard work and maybe a bit of luck has the potential to do well. Each one of the aforementioned guitarists has their own distinct playing style, which is also perhaps one of the reasons for each of their own successes.

‘Hole In The Sky’ is Andy Grant’s second album, and a contrast to his instrumental debut release ‘Spirals’ which was out in 2003. Although ‘Spirals’ was well received by many, according to Grant, he felt that the way he constantly switched between different music genres on the album left him unfulfilled. In the five years between the release of ‘Spirals’ and ‘Hole in the Sky’ Grant realised that despite being an extremely proficient guitar player, his songs didn’t really seem like, well, songs. Grant played every gig he could to build on his vocals, using them in live performances to gradually change the way he approached songwriting. Grant’s bluesy vocals have hints of Gomez to them as well as throwbacks as far as Tom Waits. They are a good accompaniment to his tracks which, although being mainly acoustic blues-orientated, still have a myriad of influences.

It should be said that this isn’t strictly a solo album. Grant has included a few extra musicians on six of the eleven tracks. Playing on the album with Grant is double bassist Pete Maxfield, drummer Dave Wallace, and guitarist Steve Banks.

‘Bessie’, which starts the album, is a solo brooding bluesy jam. Grant’s throaty vocals float over the top as his foot taps along with the guitar rhythm. The track has a sort of Southern charm to it, though it’s more Jack Johnson than Seasick Steve. In similar vein, title-track ‘Hole in the Sky’ is a beautifully composed song full of delicate finger-style playing. The “backing” band makes sure the album doesn’t get too stale, but it’s a shame that I can’t hear the double bass as much as I would like to. Throughout the album it seems like Grant uses a phrase sampler of some kind to layer solos over choruses or outros. To the get the full impact of this you would have to see him live. Other stand out tracks include ‘Your Smile’ and ‘Indifference’, the later having a funky edge to the track. ‘Hole In the Sky’ is a solid second album, and with more touring who knows where Andy Grant can end up at the end of the year.

For fans of: Gomez, Tom Waits, Jack Johnson
Band link = Andy Grant

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