Ruf (label)
16 September 2016 (released)
24 September 2016
Over the last 20 years (yes really) I have watched Devon Allman grow from a very young guitar obsessed jammer through the first solo albums and into a stint with Royal Southern Brotherhood. This is his 3rd solo album (including the sublime 'Turquoise') and it shows just how far he has grown in those years,
His vocal style can best be described as a soulful bellow and his guitar playing has developed real subtlety while he can still rip out some blistering solos but it is in his songwriting that he really seems to have come into his own as he creates music that tells of the world he is seeing and experiencing – a million miles away from the standard Blues fare.
Leaving RSB in 2014 was seen by many as shocking but he seems to have used the separation to discover his voice again.
“I needed to have my own canvas,” he explains, “to stretch out and paint on with no rules, only my visions. Freedom in artistry is essential. Who stands behind a painter and says, ‘Hmmm, no, maybe you should use blue there, not purple’? That’s not anyone I wanna have coffee with!”
The album itself covers a huge spread of themes with a dozen very individual tracks telling his stories but somehow all having the DNA of Devon Allman strongly attached.
“The world is getting crazier by the minute,” says Allman. “These songs are about pain, addiction, storms, lust, death, and feeling sometimes that you’re utterly lost. But conversely, it’s about finding your place in the universe, rebirth, strength, redemption, vindication…”
Musically it is full and soulful with great use of horns as well as some very subtle percussion from Tom Hambridge and the collaborations with Tyler Stokes as well as sharing guitar duties make the album something special.
Allman is growing, album by album and project by project and there isn’t a track that really stands out above the rest but there also isn’t a mistake on the album either.
