If the number of album releases coming through the door were a guide, then the recession should surely be over. Either that or the warm weather is getting the creative juices flowing out there in the musical world. Duly and verily, Drew Andrew's album "Only Mirrors" made it to Bluesbunny Towers.
You might know Drew Andrew's name if you're a fan of The Album Leaf as he performs with them but this isn't really like an album by that band. The songs on this album are more those of a serious singer songwriter on a voyage of self discovery and are accordingly performed with a hefty degree of emotional intensity. At least we don't get burdened with mournful songs of lost love here but equally there's little in the way of bouncy, upbeat tunes. In fact, the reflective "I Could Write A Book" - elegant as eloquent as it is - only just stays this side of self pity and other songs such as "Angeli" and "Wide Awake" suggest that we are all trapped by indolence and indifference. That's pretty much the tone for the whole album pervaded as it is by a sense of confusion and melancholy.
Maybe an artistic statement is being made here by a performer unsure of his place and purpose in the world. Maybe this is just the mellow side of a shoegazer but, truth be told, this is a hard album to take in one go. It's well performed but it is a bit on the unrelenting side with no sense of light and shade - or joy and sadness - to take you the full distance.
Looking at the promo photo that came with the album, I wasn't surprised to see a guy with a check shirt, glasses and a half thought out beard. "Only Mirrors" does sound a bit too much like an album by a guy with a check shirt, glasses and a half thought out beard.