Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The tsunami, the tumble effect of the roar of the brain in full flow as it conjures up images of Folk music arguably at its finest, the rampant jig adding to the waves of splendour and the cartwheel of a fiddle running aloof, free-spirited across the hills, through valleys and across the wide devouring rivers that forget such moments of beauty; to be a Long Way From Home is to be wild, reckless and full of emotion, after all to be that far from home is to be allowed to reinvent yourself and be free.
The players that make up Madame Tsunami, husband and wife team Adam and Coralie Usmani, Innis Cardno, Ross Ainslie, Steve Wilson and Adrien Latge, converge in a tidal swell of up tempo flourish and bold, imaginative lyrics, a swell that really gets the blood pumping, the legs stretching and the heart clearing itself of all that makes it downcast and miserable in readiness to not only be entertained but gratified at the same time.
Madame Tsunami are truly a band who are long way from home, with Adam and Coralie making the move from their native New Zealand and the mix of both hemispheres of music clashing, merging in a state of true embrace, home is not so much a place of where you are from, it is where you are most comfortable and where the art flows from.
The album is an abundant ride, a thrill from start to finish and even in the feeling of mourning, of saying goodbye to a life left behind in the opening segment of the album, the sense of free-will and beautiful expression of discovery of new lands is but a short step behind.
It is in that small footfall from peeking through the waves and seeing the greatness of the land ahead that makes tracks such as Hold Me Close, the absolute brilliance of Man on The Run, Cinderella, Plot on the Moon and Living Memory full of groove, true spit and polish and fantastic to listen to. To take on such a task and come up trumps on the first attempt is not only an outstanding achievement, it is the purpose of art, to give everything to the moment, despite the cost, and capture the emotion; it is something that Madame Tsunami should be extremely proud of achieving as they continue to be a Long Way From Home.
Ian D. Hall