CD Review – Seth Lakeman – Hearts and Minds
Relentless Records – CDREL21 50999 6412052
4 out of 5 stars
Current folk –rock poster boy Seth Lakeman releases his latest album, – ‘Hearts and Minds’ with all of the bells and whistles, but still containing all of the heart and soul of the albums that first put him in the folk firmament. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is joined by brother Sean on guitar, double bassist Ben Nicholls, drummer Simon Lea and multi-instrumentalist Benji Kirkpatrick, seemingly on anything he can lay his hands on. The songs are all quiet mood pieces, pushing the lyrics and singing to the fore, although this does not mean it does not have anger. ‘Hearts and Mind’ and ‘Hard Working Men’ are both fine folk rock songs, but the many moods on the album seem to be one of quiet contemplation. The closing song ‘The Circle Grows’ with it’s melodic bass line could almost be from the Wyndham Hill stable, whilst the violin that features as the main instrument on many of the song is heard to best advantage on the opening track, and ‘Preacher’s Ghost’ which starts of as a Banjo led bluegrass strumalong before becoming something else entirely, and would work best on the live stage, where Lakeman has long held a good reputation as a fine performer, writer, and band leader.
benmacnair 