It was only last year that I came across Jerome Reuter a.k.a ROME when I reviewed his excellent ‘Civitas Solis’, yet he has been going for two decades and to celebrate he released two albums on the same day just before Christmas, ‘The Tower’, and ‘The Hierophant’. Arguably this is the more introspective of the two, with ROEM accompanying himself on acoustic guitars and just a few synths and percussion added for dramatic effect. What immediately grabs the attention of the listener is his wonderful baritone, a voice packed full of emotion as he takes us on a journey and tells his tales.
In some ways he is Nick Cave, in others there are echoes of Tom Waits or Johnny Cash, but when listening to this I felt truly reminded of one singer in particular, Paul Robeson. My mother had a copy of his ‘Paul Robeson Sings Negro Spirituals’ which I played incessantly when I was young, totally captivated by his voice and the stories he was so closely akin to (his father was an escaped plantation slave), and this is the first time in more than 50 years that I have even thought of that record. Yet, somehow, it feels that Reuter is channelling a kindred spirit, with production that keeps the voice solidly in the centre, so the accompanying music is truly just that, an accompaniment, which provides a structure for the voice to rest against.
This is dark folk which has tendrils linking into other genres, but all that matters is the voice, and the voice is all there is. It is an album which must be played on headphones when one has the time to drift in the seas of his vocal creation.
Rating: 9/10
Links:
https://www.romepage.org/
https://www.facebook.com/TrisolMusic/