Garron Frith - Away from the Bright Lights

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 2 / 5 / 2012

---

Review

It’s been five years since North West singer-songwriter Frith released his self-titled debut album ,and during that time he has opened shows for artists such as Peter Green, Madeleine Peyroux, Jack Bruce and Glen Tilbrook. The reason why such a diverse collection of artists would invite a virtually unknown acoustic singer/songwriter to share a stage is apparent from just a cursory listen to the ten original songs on ‘Away from the Bright Lights’. Frith, apart from being an exceptional guitar player, has one of those voices that is simply irresistible. The laid-back vibe that he achieves on each and every one of these songs does indeed bring back memories of Nick Drake and a host of 70s' singer/songwriters and, as already noted in reviews of his debut, Frith straddles many genres, mixing folk, rock and blues successfully. Maybe it’s because just lately the sweet sounds of Michael Kiwanuka have been working their magic round these parts, but it doesn’t take too much imagination to hear slight traces of the likes of Terry Callier in Frith’s songs. The one word that appears to be missing when reading about Frith’s work is maybe the most important one; ‘Away from The tright Lights’ is a soul album, it’s as simple as that. Sure, Frith peppers his songs with folk, blues and even pop leanings (‘Good Thing’ is as catchy as a cold but the warmth it radiates through deft use of organ and harmonica, not to mention producer Simon J Alpin’s mandolin playing, make it a cert for radio play; it will lift the dullest of days), but it’s the soulfulness displayed in Frith’s lived-in vocals and also his expressive guitar playing that will win many people over. ‘Rolling The Dice’ which closes the album, is one song where Frith displays all his influences, his harmonica and Alpin’s lap steel adding a blues flavour, Connie Abbe’s background vocals lend a gospel feel and the warmth of the keyboards adding a little of that country/soul sound into the mix. As expected by the time you reach the end of the album, Frith’s vocals float on top of yet another tuneful melody. The more you listen the more Frith’s talent is revealed. These are songs that, although instantly accessible, really do throw up new surprises with each play; there’s a depth to the songs that does take some time to appreciate fully. The opening song, ‘Black Widow’ will be welcomed readily by those Terry Callier fans as will the following song, ‘Not the Man’, but both songs will soon find favour with those who don’t usually appreciate the folk/soul genre. Frith is a songwriter of some substance as that opening duo of songs proves. From there Frith, with just vocals, harmonica and foot stomping demonstrates his blues influences perfectly on ‘Pretty Penny’ before surprising everyone with a tender ballad in the shape of ‘This One’. Boasting one of Frith’s prettiest melodies initially the song recalls some long forgotten deep soul classic with weeping violin adding to the atmosphere before Frith turns in a touching, gentle vocal performance that is truly breathtaking. ‘Rocknrollband’ again features violin, but, with Frith’s higher-pitched vocals on this track, Neil Young, for some reason, springs to mind; in the space of three songs Frith has tackled blues, soul, folk and country and has come out on the winning side. With songs as good as these and by supporting already established artists it can only be a matter of time before Garron Frith finally receives the attention and acclaim that these outstanding songs deserve. ‘Away from the Bright Lights’ isn’t just a collection of fine songs that will appeal to a wide audience, it’s an outstanding album from start to finish from an artist that we are going to hear a lot more from and who deserves our support.

Track Listing:-

1 Black Widow
2 Not the Man
3 Pretty Penny
4 This One
5 Rocknrollband
6 Little Bird
7 The Remedy
8 Good Thing
9 Old Habits
10 Rolling the Dice

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/garron.frith/
http://garronfrith.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/GarronFrith