\u201cMelody is King, it makes my heart sing,\u201d declares Daniel Wylie in the liner notes to this album, and I\u2019m not about to argue. Neither is Ian M. Bailey, who drenches the chiming six- and 12-string Rickenbackers and layered vocals found here in a gentle, gauzy reverb that\u2019s at once nostalgic and inviting. It\u2019s harmony-rich folk-and-country-influenced power-pop that feels like the zest grated off of a hundred hours spent listening to Turn! Turn! Turn!<\/i> <\/p>\n
This is Lancashire, UK-based singer-songwriter Bailey\u2019s third album in this familiar Byrds-adjacent sonic vein. All its songs are once again co-written by Bailey and the aforementioned Daniel Wylie (of Cosmic Rough Riders), with multi-instrumentalist \/ producer Bailey handling most of the instrumentation (guitars, bass, drums, keys) with support from the similarly multi-talented Alan Gregson on keys, lap steel, dobro, string arrangements and mastering.<\/p>\n
The guitars on opener \u201cThe Last Chime\u201d hit the mark suggested by its title as Bailey observes that \u201cLove has a way \/ Of turning the tide\u201d on a tune that\u2019s still only half as Byrdsian as its delicious complement \u201cIt\u2019s Summer Rain,\u201d whose loping rhythm is decorated with Rickenbacker jangle and melancholy undertones just like Gene Clark intended. <\/p>\n
A Beatles influence surfaces on \u201cMother Nature,\u201d which adds sitar and strings for a lush environmental message that\u2019s with right in line with the overall ethos here. Then \u201cThe Clock Is Ticking\u201d tries on an organ-led, rather Zombies feel that the subsequent instrumental \u201cShe Waltzes With The Devil\u201d takes in a still heavier direction. <\/p>\n
A lighter touch returns as \u201cDance Around The Room\u201d builds on gentle, ringing chords, while \u201cPray For Me\u201d delivers a pulsing backbeat on a tune where airy verses lead to driving, jangly choruses right out of the Roger McGuinn toolkit. More predictable are \u201cCalifornia Desert Sundown,\u201d a woozy, gold-hued hippie tale that may or may not feature an alien abduction, and \u201cThe Sweet Smell Of Roses,\u201d a lilting romantic entreaty.<\/p>\n
The title track leads with sitar and some distinctly Harrison-esque vocals before evolving toward a punchier tone, with some of the more assertive riffing found here. The album closes with less a one-two punch than a gentle fade as \u201cCountry Girl\u201d offers a laconic country-folk ballad, followed by the suitably ethereal \u201cThe Moon Floats On A Cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey\u2019s vocals linger on the breathy side, pulling more than pushing, but the laid-back vibe suits this music fine; even the few heavier numbers feel light in his hands. It\u2019s an album lush with harmony and chiming guitars that draws liberally from what one might consider the usual suspects in that musical realm\u2014the Byrds, the Beatles, REM, Teenage Fanclub\u2014while infusing the resulting music with genuine personality and vigor. We Live In Strange Times<\/i> deploys familiar, classic sounds in service of a journey well worth taking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":34951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10930],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-46823","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-ian-m-bailey","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46823"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}