FABIAN HOLLAND - A Day Like Tomorrow
Rooksmere Records RRCD116
Fabian Holland is a young singer-songwriter whose self-titled debut album created a stir. On
A Day Like Tomorrow he brings in Fred Claridge on drums and percussion, Jacob Stoney on keyboards and the producer Mark Hutchinson on electric and bass guitars. The fuller sound mostly works OK, though, combined with his relaxed singing style, it sometimes makes his words indistinct. Printed lyrics would have been grand.
That reservation aside, I thought the album was handsome. Fabian’s classy fingerstyle guitar is a great strength. The only tune is Morning Mist, influenced by Davey Graham’s Anji. But all 10 songs are enhanced by his playing. Fabian shows his respect for the tradition early on with good versions of Nobody’s Fault But Mine, a gospel blues first recorded by Blind Willie Johnson, and The House Carpenter which is given a stark unaccompanied ending after a flowing arrangement. His own songs show sharp eyes, humanity and readiness to engage in social commentary. Echoes of Chris Wood, I thought. With You is a small town love ballad. Four Inch Screen, with a trad style top-and-tail, examines how some people document their lives on smart phones. Welcome To The Magic Show points at casinos, fast food outlets and beauty salons as businesses built on our weaknesses. Fabian is a houseboat dweller, and The River is about some of the struggling people he has encountered on the waterways. Humour is sprinkled in the mix. Spring is about how we pasty Brits celebrate its coming (as I write this the forecasters are insisting it’s only days away) and The List is about things on to do lists that don’t get done.
Seeing Fabian perform live is now on my to do list. It will get done, honest.
www.fabianholland.com
Tony Hendry
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 107 of The Living Tradition magazine. |