Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The modern world at times is so frantic that the sight of a single flower poking its head above the procession of weeds and moss encrusted pavements is sometimes treated with derision and sarcasm. A sign that the world in its infinite wisdom should carry on producing such moments and not give in the easy chance to score a point against a fellow human being, is often scorned and deflected as such and it makes for a sad tale of forgotten past and adds colour to the sensitive and profound.
Such is the sweetness in Boo Hewerdine’s voice and simple guitar work in the release of his new album, Open, that the single beauty you might see through the grime of a bleak early morning sunrise is enhanced and shaped to the point where poets of old might just throw in the towel and argue of the nature of the elegiac dream.
Open though is not just a door in which to walk casually through, it is not a park in which to stumble blindly and to head straight for the exit on the other side, a park in which the shortcut is absolute. It is an album in which taking stock of your own life is just as important to each song’s message and well being as it is to the memories it provides of the all the unreleased tracks from Boo Hewerdine’s studio time.
Open is more akin to unlocked, the chance to find that an escape route from the day to day and the already set in stone was there before you if you bothered looking hard enough and the songs on the album reflect this. Soft, delicate and yet with the punch of a man who aims true and with passion, this collection of songs, including such rare beauties as early versions of Geography and the astonishing Muddy Water, the excellent Rags, the relentless feel of Earthquake Bird and the album closer of North & South, all garner attention because of their simplicity of spirit, a spirit which is delicate but also one which towers and looms large in the heart once heard.
For Boo Hewerdine this is yet another example of the completeness of his work, of the unity between lyric and guitar and one that is exposed for its approachable receptive glory. Some things in life are better left Open, they entrance the visitor with greater heart that way.
Boo Hewerdine’s Open is released on June 22nd. Boo Hewerdine will be performing at the St. Helens Citadel on June 26th.
Ian D. Hall