Independent (label)
22 October 2017 (released)
14 October 2017
Hands up, I have been following David 9 Lunas for a few years now and waiting with bated breath for him to finally release an album of new material. Bottom line – well worth the wait and a delightful set of songs.
Born in Trinidad but brought up in England he is officially a Blues singer but I would say rather more of a folk artist, teller of tales and old fashioned hippy (in the best sense of the term).
He has a beautiful voice, really expressive and capable of carry huge amounts of emotion as well as dipping occasionally into deep whimsy.
Musically, the album is not rooted anywhere particular. It crosses between folk, Blues, jazz and captures the soul of a complex musician effortlessly. There is no point on the album when you feel that he is straining for a phrase or stretching musical metaphors – the focus is on the songs and the message.
The album is dedicated to ‘awareness of mental health’ and some of the songs definitely touch on a very difficult subject but always with a sense of wonderment and a caring voice.
The opener, ‘How Sweet The Brave’ has some disturbing and jumbled images in the opening phrase and the underlying darkness of the music counterpoints the lyrics – Lunas says “The story is a depressive cycle of a young girl trapped. Lonely and surrounded by confusion, without support lying in bed “trying to escape the day” but he avoids the obvious bleakness and manages to show the complexity of the cycle.
Cut that against ‘Sunshine In The Rain’ – a pure love song to his wife Molly and written for their wedding day. Loaded with whistling and strings but the core is his voice and you can hear the love dripping from every note.
I must say that I adore ‘Movin Ouse Blues’ – a wonderful tale of the trials and tribulations of moving house, describing their journey around the classic parts of Somerset – frantic, funny and finally joyous.
‘Reefer Girl’ is – in the words of Lunas again “An impression of someone with issues about mental health again about someone young and how it can impact on friends and family when combined with drug abuse.” Rocky and with a hard edge with a fine harmonica break from Al Cosnett.
The sumptuous ‘In The Name Of The Father’ was written for his father who passed away in 2016 and touches on the difficulty of a meeting of the minds between the generations and the chasm between them. Ultimately it has a redemptive tone to it but leaves you thinking about relationships with those who went before us.
There really isn’t a weak song here and a great deal to think about. I have listened to it a few times now and find my attentions moving around every time.
David 9 Lunas is a complex musician but he seems to have found a particular rich groove of songs here and the album is satisfying on many levels.
