Jamie McDonald & The Number Nein - Dark of Heartness
It's always amazing to see how productive some artists are. Jamie McDonald is one of them. He released the album "Maladies of country and soul" not that long ago ( you can read the review here and the interview about the album) but now he comes with another one. This time a bit different. Raw sound but still honest and with the unmistakable vocal.
The latest offering starts with Big Bass Drum where the saxophone plays an important part. The song feels like a love story where the singer is reminiscing a relationship that ended. You can feel all the emotions from Jamie's evocative vocal.
Catfish shows an example of a song that suits Jamie McDonald the best. Just vocal and guitar, not many other instruments. Gentle but powerful at the same time.
Roll Another, Johanna sounds like more uplifting track, maybe because of the female backing vocal.
Jamie McDonald demonstrates his diverse talents on this album again, trying on shoes in different genres but feeling comfortable, experimenting, crossing boundaries, wherever the music leads him.
We all know that feeling. We meet someone, fell in love and we think this is it. But this time it's not the case and such realization hurts. Big time. Love, Approximately.
" I was sure....crystal clear in my confusion..."
Haunting sadness in Ain't No Moonshine When She's Gone instantly gets you. The song leaves you wondering if there has ever been a song that evokes the other one of the similar name this much. Maybe yes, maybe not. But one thing is for sure : Jamie's warm vocal makes you stop and think about things you did or should have done. At least for a moment.
As we move down the album tracklist and the more songs we listen to, the more we realize the saxophone is quite a dominant instrument on this collection. The overall feel also differs from the previous, this one feels more like an urge of the singer to get the things off his chest and let the songs be heard.
The album will be released on January 12th 2019