Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

If there is a gentleman in the world who can do justice to the type of song that observes how the world is teetering upon an abyss, the crazed insanity delivered with calm voice and intent in the eyes, then Dave Jackson arguably is that man, a British version of Leonard Cohen but with the added attraction of having the grime and grit, the modern noir, thrown into his lyrical repose.

For Dave Jackson & The Cathedral Mountaineers the modern noir and seductive gravel like tones make Red Fin Sunset something of a contrast to the upbeat love that can filter through more interesting times that shroud the world and be seen as perhaps a light relief, the constant reprieve from facing up to the problems that are thrust in our face, instead Dave Jackson and his superb arranged band offers beautiful darkness but with the flair of imagination which gives the album uplift and desire.

The firebrand of Liverpool observation, of delightful rebellion that hangs in the air, is keenly felt throughout Red Fin Sunset and it assists the listener into the world that is painted, framed, signed and freely proposed to be enjoyed. It is the stepping freely into the painting, of placing themselves into a world of 3D Lowry like introspection that grabs the attention and whips the listener, not just into shape, but into a reality that they don’t want to escape from.

In songs such as Ladyfriend, Perfect Girl, Dragon Headed Cane and Parasite, Dave Jackson & The Cathedral Mountaineers paint a world in which the music reigns with honour and with a sense of overwhelming purpose. If it is Lowry painting given flesh, if it is gritty realism given breath by Dave Jackson, then it is the taste of realism that is modest, humble and simple by design, a simplicity that smacks a huge wallop and makes the iron fist in the supposed velvet glove look like a fuzzy felt paw grasping a rose; for Red Fin Sunset is an elegant truth wielding legitimate candour and it is a true beauty to behold.

Ian D. Hall