Play 90 second soundbite of 'Crab Apple' @ 'CD quality'
Harvey Lord's 'I Don't Believe I Exist' is a mainly stripped bare work that is likely to expose any shortcomings, weaknesses and mistakes. But, Lord's got it pretty much sorted if this album's anything to go by; great songs, great playing and a bloody good voice. I'm not saying that this work is perfect - there's always room for improvement but generally he's given it a 'fair suck of the sauce bottle'. Lord obviously has quite a talent for words; his songs here, and there's eleven of 'em, are extremely palatable and there's nowt wrong with the starting point. As a composer and player Lord reminds me more of Nick Drake than anyone I've ever come across - that can't be bad!
'I Don't Believe I Exist' is quite a downbeat work that could just occasionally do with being lifted by maybe a couple of more up-tempo, optimistic songs. However, Lord gets away with it because of his quite unique and very likeable style. Vocally, Lord has a nicely warm and rich sounding voice that perhaps just occasionally falters a touch - perhaps a confidence thing - after all with music this 'unplugged' the voice can tend to be rather exposed. But, in a way Lord's odd deviations from the pure note are usually totally in kilter with the songs and don't feel out of place and 'if it aint broke, don't fix it'! Anyway, on the whole, I really like what Harvey Lord is doing. There are some really good ideas mixed in here which keep the interest high and suggest the guy's got depth as well as feel.
'I Don't Believe I Exist' by Harvey Lord surprised me by its ability to grab my attention. Lord has a very creative streak and with his Drake-esque delivery and honest songs I think he's got a bloody good future as a solo artist. Certainly, Harvey Lord is right up my street - I love his feel and I think he's a gifted wordsmith and songsmith. 'I Don't Believe I Exist' by Harvey Lord, as the title perhaps suggest, is quite a mournful album but thankfully doesn't actually make you want to cut your throat. That said, the 'dark-side' suits Lord's vocal delivery and descriptive guitar style. And, sensibly, Lord hasn't been tempted to over-embellish his songs with un-needed extras - the whole thing's honest and believable and the sparse instrumentation only adds more grit to the already robust mix that Harvey Lord is dishing out - great work Harvey Lord, impressive stuff this and I hope the acoustic road is kind to you and you manage to reach your rainbow's end and the waiting pot of gold.
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