ImageI have no idea whatsoever of how many albums I have been sent to review over the years, and they have come through in many forms. Back in the day I was often sent white label cassettes or demo tapes and even vinyl, then I used to get full CD releases, or sometimes the CD would be in a special promo slip sleeve, while Lion Music used to send out all music in a white paper cover. Then we have streaming, and for some I get MP3’s, others WAV, and even FLAC, but I can honestly say I have never received an album quite like this. You see, the album came in a cardboard box with a sticker of the album cover on the front, and when I opened it up, I found inside not only the CD but a board game, with all the rules, die etc. To say I was blown away by the packaging is something of an understatement, but it also left me with a problem. What would happen if I didn’t like the album? I have always believed in being honest in my reviews, and if I don’t like something, I still review it and say why, as opposed to only ever publishing positive comments. To me it is has always been about the music, and the rest is all periphery, so what was it going to sound like?
This is my first introduction to the songs of Liz Lenten and her band Auburn, but they have been around for more than 20 years (and this is their fifth release) and there has been some consistency in the recording line-up. This album features Liz on vocals, and she is joined by Thomm Jutz (producer, guitars), Mark Fain (bass) and Britt Savage (harmony vocals) who all played on 2016’s ‘Love & Promises’, along with new drummer Lyn Williams. It took a while for me to get my head around the fact that Liz is British and not American (although the album was again recorded in Nashville), as this is Americana to the core. Liz sings in a breathy gentle style, which in many ways reminds me of the delicate side of Janis Joplin (honest, she had one), and the arrangements are all about providing the perfect support for her vocals to be front and centre.
Not all musicians are involved in all songs, and while there are some where the guitars are multi-tracked there are others where they hardly appear at all. There are more nods into the country scene than rock, but it also very much makes me think of the San Francisco scene from the late Sixties. This is a melting pot of sound which takes the listener into a different world and time. It is unusual to find vocals sung so gently, almost like a lullaby, and the music is consequently restrained and careful as a result. This is the fourth album with Thomm Jutz, and he knows exactly what is required to provide the perfect sound for these songs, and on songs such as “Red Velvet Pillow” it is about acoustic guitar and gentle steel. This is quite an album for fans of Americana, created by someone from the “wrong” side of the pond which is somehow totally authentic.
Rating: 8/10
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Track list:
1 Game Of Faith
2 Bad Girl,good Woman
3 I Dont Love Him
4 I Drank
5 Prosseco Fuelled Profiles
6 Trinidad
7 Red Velvet Pillow
8 Happy Nowhere
9 Misshapen Fruit
10 Its Not Love
11 Float To Blue
12 Spoke In The Wheel
13 Like I Do
14 His Arms
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Links:
https://www.auburn.org.uk/
