Danny Bryant is a hugely passionate man, and all that passion pours into his music. So, when he is trapped for nearly two years, unable to record, unable to play gigs but able to write and to observe the world around him going into the pan, you would expect a heavy and passionate album from him and that is exactly what you get.
‘The Rage To Survive’ works on so many levels, though. The title track is powerful, aggressive, and full of anger. Built around a constant beat it has Bryant looking at the Pandemic world in a different way to many – almost a post-apocalyptic soundscape, there is no comfort here as he exhorts the listener to find “the rage to survive”.
But the album is not all about anger. ‘Invisible Me’ is desperately sad and lonely. Opening with a Trumpet solo and then simple and empty piano piece, his vocal is exquisitely dark and lonely. As a metaphor for lockdown it fits perfectly – the empty streets, not even daring to look at the others taking their solo exercise walks, locked deep inside our own heads. His guitar solo on the track, set alongside the lonely trumpet, is fabulous, drawing all the emotion out of the song that is possible. The same goes, in part, for ‘Westport’. A classic ‘lost and distant love’ Blues/rock track, powerfully emotive and, as the last track on the album, a perfect finish.
Every other track on the album is another gem. They explore the darker side of life today, touching on relationships, losses, reactions but never losing the effect on the listener, never becoming a ‘poor me’ album.
Danny has had plenty of time to write and when he got together with the band the entire album was put together in the round, all the musicians in the studio together, working on the tracks as written and actually finishing up 4 days early. That comes over with a remarkable freshness and joi de vivre, every part of the band working together.
The band consists of Dave Raeburn on drums, Paul Mallatratt on bass, Lauren Youung on sax, David Madison on Trumpet and Stevie Watts on keys alongside Danny Bryant who wrote, produced and played guitar and vocals. Ian Dowling (Adele) mixed and engineered the album.
Every Danny Bryant album seems to take us in a different direction, all for the good as he never gets trapped in repetition, and I find myself awarding top marks every time, this one being no different. You would expect a post lockdown album to be very different to his pre-lockdown material and it is, in many ways, but this is also an instantly recognizable Danny Bryant album and a really good one.
