Play 90 second soundbite of 'Easy Sky' @ 'CD quality'
But, here it is, 'House Of Sun' once again finds Anthony in blissfully honest acoustic heaven; another set of beautifully conceived, sensitively crafted and superbly executed songs from the heart and mind of one of the finest, yet to be truly discovered, acoustic troubadours of our time.
Anthony's varied acoustic offerings here take the listener through many emotions, they conjure up pictures that could at the same time be impressionistic and evocative, true to life honest portraits, harrowing still-life musical images, sun-drenched friendly landscapes or heaving, shifting, restless seascapes - and, like art generally, you may have to stand back from the pieces before they truly come to you and you get the true picture - so, take your time here, listen well, listen hard, then enjoy what Stuart Anthony is laying at your feet - drink in the beauty, absorb the warmth, admire the energy and just let Anthony's songs thrill and chill you!
Anthony is accompanied here by a few trusty 'friends' laying down various traditionally acoustic instruments but never once do they get in the way or challenge for dynamic prominence; Stuart Anthony is the driver, he is totally in charge, he leads, he guides, he directs - all the time ensuring his voice is the prime-mover and everything else is punctuation and/or decoration. His own accompaniment, whether guitar or Hammond, is empathetically expressive yet sensitively weighted, offering substance and form without over-crowding or confusing.
'House Of Sun' by Stuart Anthony is a fine piece of work; it tends towards the cultish side of acoustic nu-folk perhaps but that's not to say that Anthony isn't commercially viable - a bit like Damien Rice's 'O', there are songs that could be stand-alone singles and there are others that'll always remain solidly album works. And, just like Rice, Anthony's ability to emote through vocal expression and dynamic control is pretty awesome - Stuart Anthony has everything required to be very big indeed - all that's now needed is loads of exposure and Lady Luck - the former he can control and do something about, the latter will happen if it's meant to happen. I believe Stuart Anthony deserves that bit of luck and is good enough to challenge the established 'stars' of the form and that 'House Of Sun' is itself a real contender. Excellent stuff this from a bloody talented and gifted singer/songwriter!!
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