Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Winter may be coming, the sound of the first crunch of ice hangs in the northern air and the sense that the darkness will, as always, be consuming and the lights that flicker mournfully will only stretch so far in their guidance towards the new dawn, the dark season may be approaching but for Paul Dunbar & The Black Winter Band Barely Holding On is not an option, in fact it is with tender relief and liberation of spirit that Paul Dunbar is back to doing what he does best, making incredibly beautiful music.
Liverpool lost something for a while whilst Paul Dunbar went on the travels that every person should do at least once in their life, the journey in which you only take alone or with one other like minded person, the expedition in which you test yourself and your endurance and take on your own well conceived thoughts. Welcoming such a positive light back to the city was never going to be a hard question but it is one that may have had the consideration of would the man come back to where he was needed. As Barely Holding On suggests, not only is he back, but it is with relish and sense of dramatic beauty that he comes equipped with.
Like a famed Victorian explorer who has found the answers to the ages most perplexing natural history questions posed, Paul Dunbar & The Black Winter Band rise to the challenge of climbing the peak in front of them and looking with awe on the scene they survey; this though is not done with the snooty nose and arrogance of that bygone and some would say destructive age, instead it is with a sense of purpose, of reasoned intent, to bring back positivity to the single market and the stories that are contained within.
A classic song, a well thought out appraisal of searching for something that perhaps had held you back, the dichotomy of knowing what you grasp for could also be the one thing that destroys you; Paul Dunbar & The Black Winter Band have set a new high in the way that you listen to certain songs.
Paul Dunbar & The Black Winter Band will be performing at Leaf on September 23rd.
Ian D. Hall