Nick Mears – Life’s Golden Era
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| Nick Mears - Life's Golden Era |
Release Date: Out Now
If you give this debut album from
Nick Mears a listen (which you can, free Soundcloud stream link below) then you
won’t really need me to tell you that this is the work of someone residing in
Cornwall. The chilled acoustic riffs and Reggae undertones are perfectly suited
for the laid-back beach culture that prevails in the Duchy (not to be passed on
the left-hand side). The 9-track collection that forms ‘Life’s Golden Era’
opens up with a mood-setting ‘Take It Slow’ which has a gentle Reggae strum and
Mears’ trademark laid-back vocal – think Jack Johnson’s younger English cousin
and you’re in the right ball park. ‘Never Comin’ Down’ has a livelier tempo and
speaks to that side of you that has wanderlust but also fully appreciates that
feeling of belonging that rushes in when you wake up in your own bed for the
first time in ages.
On ‘Pale Blue California’ Mears
hits his stride as more than just an acoustic strummer as a full band backs him
in his Red Hot Chili Peppers inspired endeavour wit louche guitars and the kind
of drumming that can pretty much only ever come from a topless drummer with a
backwards baseball cap on. ‘Hometown Blues’ shows off a more Blues tinged side to
it as you might expect from the title while ‘Freedom’ has the sound of an
acoustic outing from the Goo-Goo Dolls or Pearl Jam with that US rock vibe
flowing throughout. There’s a standout album moment on ‘Dance in The Rain’ that
could easily be featured in a Hollywood Rom-Com and is perfect for a million
wedding first dances for those couples that fancy themselves as slightly to the
left of the norms of society.
The delicate acoustic picking of ‘1973’
is perfect for a late-night session with a bottle of red and some curious smoky
scent in the air but as Mears explores that common fantasy of being alive in a
better, freer time that held more wonder and fewer selfies. ‘The Fly High Club’
is slow but steady acoustic strum that builds to a moody crescendo reminiscent
of the likes of Cream or Joe Cocker. This debut offering finishes up on ‘Up To
No Good’ which has a swagger about it that is indicative of someone who surely
enjoys walking down on to the beach as the sun starts to tickles the waves of a
morning – despite its political undertones and sense of dissatisfaction with
the world. This style won’t suit everyone but if you’ve ever watched a sunrise
over a beach or surfed or even just slept out under the stars in the south-west
of England or the west-coast of the US then there is part of you that will fall
in love with this.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/NickMearsMusic/
Live Dates:
21st April – Inn on the Shore, Downderry (FREE
ENTRY)
23rd April – The Stable, Newquay
1st May – Smugglers Pie & Ale Festival, Newquay
25th May – The Stable, Falmouth
28th May – The Tywarnhayle Inn, Perranporth
9th June – Inn on the Shore, Downderry (FREE ENTRY)
16th June – The Tywarnhayle Inn, Perranporth
7th July – Rick Stein’s, Newquay
9th July – The Tywarnhayle Inn, Perranporth
28th July – The Old Success, Sennen Cove
4th August – The Old Success, Sennen Cove
5th August – Farmers Arms, Saint Merryn
18th August – Inn on the Shore, Downderry (FREE ENTRY)
25th August – The Old Success, Sennen Cove
26th August – Cornwall Folk Festival, Wadebridge
17th September – Sandbar, Penzance
24th September – Rod & Line, Saltash
6th October – Sandbar, Penzance