Son of Simon – Rivers/Pastures
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| Son of Simon - Rivers/Pastures |
Release Date: Out Now
I don’t get to review as many
albums as I’d like, due to time pressures mainly, but I give them all a listen
and when I come across one that’s really special, really worth writing home
about then I want to make sure you all hear about. This new album by Andy
Wilson-Taylor, under the pseudonym Son of Simon, is one such album so pull up a
pew and let me tell you all about ‘Rivers/Pastures’. The haunting, wintry tones
that open ‘Waltz’ would make you think this was going to be Ludovico Einaudi’s
folk album but then Wilson-Taylor smooth, assured vocal joins you know this is
something different, something more. ‘Mara’ continues with the intricate, plucked
string theme but this time a sultry rhythm and some stadium sized strings take
things up a notch on the drama-o-meter to somewhere along the lines of System
Of A Down doing the score to a film about the breakdown of a relationship in
Ukraine shortly after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Apart from being a song title
that you have to type carefully, ‘Shi’ is a Muse-esque album track of a song
with deep, rumbling strings slinky and swirling around like a balletic
ice-skater but powered along by some fantastically dramatic drumming. As
delicate as the notes are on ‘Sisters’ the intention and power behind this tune
is just as formidable while ‘Shadow’ is a more straightforward indie ballad in
the style of Keane or The Fray with that huge sweeping sound and tear jerking
build of emotion. The double tracked vocals of ‘American Girl’ are sublime and
by the time the first chorus is done I’m convinced this is a song I’ve known
all my life. And that’s the ‘Rivers’ part of the album over – dramatic,
ambitious and not without huge melodies.
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| Son of Simon aka Andy Wilson-Taylor |
The ‘Pastures’ half of the album
kicks off with the thoroughly Ed Sheeran-esque ‘Before It Turns To Rain’ which
has a real feel of ‘Photograph’ about it and would surely be gobbled up by the
masses if they got to hear it. The intimate feel of ‘Run Away’ is purely made
for that last glass of red wine as the lights of the city go out and the glow
of the sun starts to creep in. Wilson-Taylor’s voice is rich and velvety smooth
on its own but when doubled up its absorbing and the scattered beat that come
and go make this just one of many highlights on this album. Similarly, ‘Colours
In The Rain’ is a gorgeous slice of acoustic thoughtfulness that has a hint of
Brother & Bones about it but those sumptuous strings elevate it to another
level as the lyrics tell their sad tale of loss and regret. On ‘Helpless’ the
piano is the instrument of choice but there is no let-up in the beauty and
elegance of the music while ‘Moonlight’ goes for a slightly more edgy feel with
a hint of the Above & Beyond acoustic material about it which is a very,
very good thing. The final (bonus) track is ‘Next To Me’ and the piano rolls
like a field of corn in the breeze and the melodies are full of homesickness
and longing as they bring a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye.
It’s rare to find an album full of melodies with mainstream
appeal which also has the kind of song-writing and musicianship to be
considered for critical acclaim as well. Son of Simon might be a pseudonym or
nom de plume but I can’t help but feeling this is an intensely personal album
for Andy Wilson-Taylor and I, for one, am very grateful that he’s chosen to
share it with us. You should be too.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/sonofsimonuk/?fref=ts