Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The world needs Cast, like other bands from the Liverpool music arena, Cast are indelibly linked to a particular mood, a stream of conscious that cannot be denied or ignored; it is in the Liverpool heart, the acknowledgment that the world outside is rough, often insane and never complimentary to those who pour their heart and soul into making it a little brighter or even kinder. It is in that truth that bands such as Cast become important, because they at least see the rolling majesty and time eroding nature of the River Mersey and suggest that to fight back is the only thing that makes sense, that to be seen Kicking Up The Dust is one thing, what is needed is an actual sandstorm of enlightenment.

Cast’s John Power takes this charge of electricity and puts all the energy into creating a set of lyrics that are positive, bountiful and never waning from the direction the band have chosen; the anguish of years past, the anger that the world is not listening to its own heartbeat, the sincerity of passion, all of the feelings we associate with living a life in the modern and disdainful world, this is the great height that Cast have conquered and one that is simply incredible to hear.

Kicking Up The Dust has taken the band back to a place in which it can soar, anger can do that, it brings the energy into the open and makes the senses keen, fruitful, brimming with confidence and a certain light to the core of art. By involving the great Jennifer John and Sense of Sound on the backing arrangement on the track Paper Chains, the album also takes a wander into the realms of a harmonious relationship with the outside world, a meaningful and unrelenting agreement with itself that despite the rage, there is also a time to sit and reflect about the good that surrounds us; it is a feeling that is captured with charm by Jennifer John.

It should be recognised that arguably that Kicking Up The Dust is the band’s finest creation to date, a sincere argument, one that is framed by the very sheer pounding that the heart endures and ultimately craves during the time it takes to soak in Cast’s abundant waters.

In tracks such as Further Down The Road, Birdcage, Every Little Thing You Do, the superb Baby Blue Eyes and Out of My Hands, Cast seem to revel in the fight to come, for them this about the future not the past, the long since forgotten war is nothing compared to what is to come and the line in the sand has been breached by the powers of corruption and unfeeling, uncompassionate, it is now time to seriously be seen to be Kicking Up The Dust in their faces.

Ian D. Hall