Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The diary seems to be a long forgotten art, relegated to history by the insistence of social media where the everyday action is calculated, commented up and then soon abandoned in the search for the next gratification hit. There is no build up, no harmony of what has happened before and no concern for what the words hastily written down and unchecked will bring. The diary has the appeal in the modern age of appointments rubbed out and the condensed form of language strung out.
A diary though thankfully is not the sole preserve of paper, the thoughts and reminisces of a person’s life can be captured in art and whilst there is no date stamp on the header, no time in which the moment was captured, it still allows future generations the enjoyment and insight of understanding the artist’s train of thoughts. Such a move is wonderfully captured by musicians all the time and as Stevie Jones & The Wildfires debut album, Stratigraphic Heart, alludes too, memory is all when it comes to framing time.
The sheer depth of integrity, of musical frankness laid down in the lyrics and the accompanying instrumental candour is refreshing, it sings highly of the importance of recollection, even in the most darkest of moments and the brightest of seconds and allows the listener to offer a hand, an open palm in which to grasp firmly and nod with appreciation and say, “I’ve been there too.”
It is this mutual consideration, the empathy that passes between artist and diary listener that makes Stratigraphic Heart perceptive and urges tolerance for all, it is the layering of emotions and the brick building of a person’s experiences which follow through with muster.
In songs such as the album opener 25 Years, Silver Spoon, the truth in human desperation of Plan B, the gilt edged smile that is provided in This Is My Church and Chasing Rainbows, Stevie Jones & The Wildfires open up their own musical chest cavity and allow the listener to peer in, to take notes and feel the pulse of human familiarity, to know the highs and lows of emotion that only a diary can truly bring.
A tremendously enjoyable debut album, Stratigraphic Heart is a complex layering of human endeavour captured simply and with absolute care.
Ian D. Hall