Over the years, after years of mentoring from Walter Trout, Danny Bryant has developed a sound that is very much his own. His vocals sound as though broken by emotion, his guitar riffs solid and explosive and his solos could almost define the form – he can play fast, slow, tons of wah wah and fuzz or as pure a tone as you can imagine. His songwriting has developed too, and he has, for the last few years, been making albums that drip with soul and an emotive explosion.
This album feels very like Danny Bryant at his best. Every song stands apart and he covers a number of subjects, all feeling very personal, and imbues them with all of his hurt and joy and anger and release. Listening to a Danny Bryant album is not a painless exercise, he makes you feel all that he is feeling, but it is an exercise that brings a certain sense of release as well. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to say of a Danny Bryant album that it was bland or ordinary, which is why I, and many others, come to hear him time and again.
He has gathered a fine bunch of musicians to work with him here. Jamie Pipe on keyboards gives his sound an element that was lacking until a couple of years ago – something other than guitar riffs and solos to take the songs on. Paul Mallatratt on bass and Dave Raeburn on drums work together as a superb rhythm section and Marc Raner plays some wonderful guitar. He even has horns on a couple of tracks!
There are a few tracks that I found myself listening to time and again. The title track is classic Blues/rock with screaming keyboards and powerful vocals, ‘Scarlett Street’ is softer and bleeding with emotion, ‘Julienne’ paints pictures beautifully about the end of the affair and the sense of loss.
He has most definitely moved on from the young man I first saw playing in Rayners Lane in 1999 and maybe even from his ‘Revelation’ album of 2017. An assured album and 40 minutes of very well spent listening.
