Spectrology, my 2010 album is now back on sale on CD. It's been sold out for ages but I found a box in the loft.
I recorded it in rural Leicestershire with producer Mat Martin. I was honoured to work with Inge Thomson - an extraordinary creative musician from Fair Isle, Shetland. The album also features Roy Dodds from Fairground Attraction on drums, my long time friend and mentor Alan Cook on Dobro and producer Mat on Banjo.
We made a deliberate artistic decision on this album not to have any bass guitar. Our thinking was to keep the music thinner, fragile, icy, wintery and spectral.
It was a bit of a rebirth for me. Health stuff had prevented me following up my 2004 debut. in 2007/2008 I had a major surgery (urethroplasty - for your own sake please don't google it) followed by a relationship breakup and a house move. I moved to London and started playing gigs again. My confidence slowly returned and I started writing again.
We recorded this in January 2010 just a few months before my 40th birthday. It was a very special time for me. The album got great reviews on release. In Uncut it was on the same page as Elvis and in the Daily Mirror it was on the same page as Michael Jackson. They both got 3 stars and I got 4, so you could say that technically I am the King.
My friend David Armes was a huge help with getting this out, putting it on his label Little Red Rabbit. Kev Craig did some stellar artwork and my friend Matthew Welton wrote a special poem that sits across the gatefold.
This record will always mean a lot to me. It embodies a period of change, of coming out of a difficult time and rediscovering my love for music.
SPECTROLOGY (2010)
The wordplay is pure Costello. Delicate songwriting, with hints of folk and Americana. Bleakly beautiful.
Uncut 4 stars
He gathers his songs around him and weaves them into works of wonder’
Rock n Reel 4 stars
The Loner's unvarnished, acoustic guitar-gilded explorations shine.
The Daily Mirror 4 stars
An outstanding record. Uplifting and inspiring.
Maverick 4 Stars
Somewhere between Raymond Carver and Alan Sillitoe… dissecting heartbreak with surgical precision. Highly recommended.
Americana UK 8/10