Last Post - Dry Land

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 10 / 3 / 2003

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‘Dry Land’ is the follow-up to the Last Post’s debut album, ‘Love Lost’ which appeared in 2000 to critical acclaim. Led by the exceptionally talented Dublin based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alan Kelly , the Last Post deserve much more than the cult following than they have at this moment. Surely their time has come with this album? Even on first listen the lush orchestration, heart-stopping melodies and lyrics, which deal with love lost, longing and hope, make this collection of eleven songs a contender for one of the most played albums of this year. It’s simply beautiful stuff. So beautiful, in fact, that whenever I listen to it I have to do just that; listen to it. Kelly’s vocals come from the heart. They are so soulful that it is impossible to do anything else but be mesmerised by the beautiful sounds he makes once the record starts. I always listen to the record in question as I write down my thoughts on it, but I’m unable to do so with ‘Dry Land’. I have to keep stopping as I hear new sounds ; another lyric that recalls lost love, or a melody which is so captivating that I have to just sit and listen to it. Again. I make, therefore, no apologies for this being possibly my shortest ever review as it has also taken me longer to get these words down than on any other record I’ve written about. I keep drifting off as the music takes me away and everything around me takes a back seat as Kelly draws me into his world of lush, melodic pop music. Of the eleven tracks here two are short instrumentals. ‘The Gold Rush’, which is 40 seconds of fragile, beautiful guitar and Hammond organ, segues into ‘Waiting’ (one of two tracks featuring fellow Dubliner David Kitt). This is then followed by ‘The Midday Sun’ which conjures up visions of its title perfectly. Following on from ‘The Midday Sun’ is possibly the best track on the album, ‘Can’t It Wait ‘til Tomorrow’. This song has Kelly pouring his heart out over some of the saddest music I’ve heard in years. The lyrics are simple, not naive as has been suggested elsewhere. Being away from a loved one and not being able to wait just one more day to see her is a feeling which doesn’t need to wrapped up in smart lyrics or a song which is spread out over 5 minutes. Kelly sums up the longing in just 2 minutes 40 seconds and there is no arguing that the words he uses, uncomplicated as they are, are from the heart. Apart from the previously mentioned David Kitt, ‘Dry Land’ features outstanding playing from a number of Irish musicians but special mention too should be made of the harmonies provided by Aoife O’Leary who adds an angelic sound to many of the songs. It was obvious after ‘Love Lost’ that Kelly was capable of producing an album full of classic songs and with ‘Dry Land’ he has accomplished just that. From the moment the guitars kick in on the opening track, ‘Something Tells Me (You’d Be Good For Me), through Kelly’s lyrics of hope, “maybe in time you’ll love me, you don’t know me at all’, to the harmonies which wouldn’t put Brian Wilson to shame, to the closing strains of Kelly’s guitar which itself conveys a feeling of hope and optimism, it’s obvious something special is going on here. And it makes you want to dance! That opening track is worth the price of the album. The fact that the other ten songs (yes, I include the 2 instrumentals as they feel so right in the running order of the album) are just as stunning is an added bonus. We all hear different influences at work in an artist’s songs. It’s been said that Kelly’s songs owe a debt to 60's heroes like Spector and Wilson, and that Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris are in there somewhere. Maybe on some levels they are but for me this is the album that I always wanted Spiritualized to make. It’s contemporary not retro. It’s a great melodic wash of sound which can have you crying one minute and happy the next. It provides hope for the future when you feel there is none. It’s simply a great pop record. Perhaps the reason the 60's are mentioned is because the songs are so well structured. Each one goes somewhere, and says something that we can all relate to. Kelly’s only problem now, as I see it, is what he can do next to top this collection of classic pop sounds. The soundtrack to the summer has arrived early this year.

Track Listing:-

1 Something Tells Me
2 Only Thing That Eases The Pain
3 The Gold Rush
4 Waiting
5 You've Got It All
6 The Midday Sun
7 Can't Wait Till Morning
8 Change
9 Good Don't Last For Long
10 The Long Distance
11 It's All Over

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