Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10
It has always been noted that life can change within the beat of a single heart, that to not listen to the sound of your inner being is a sure fire way to be seen as nonchalant, perhaps even believing that the sound of a till in these desperate consumer driven days and times of political unreality is more in keeping with 21st Century dogma than ever stopping to think just how fortunate we are to have an organ in us that feels love, pain, despair and elation.
It takes a Heart Beat skipped to feel vulnerable, a Heart Beat pounding in a different way to undergo a transformation and it is one that sees David Botting celebrate life in all its glory and sometimes melancholic reason as he undertakes his own memory of recovery, of the selfless act of donation and the support one needs to know that the heart will go on, despite everything nature can throw against it.
Memory is a keen driving force in any sensation when it comes to placing thoughts down on paper and into the public arena; it is the force behind a feeling of confession, of thanks, of taking the time to show that the world is still worth smiling at and even with the recollection of serious illness, one can still find time to praise the Time we have afterwards.
David Botting captures that sentiment with great attitude and aptitude of slow release guitar, of creating a story in which the heart, that keeper of so many thoughts and harbourer of poignant and beautiful moments, comes out as King; a regal offering of sweat and passion.
With tracks such as Above the Waterline, Take Me To The High Place, Slipping Stones, an adaption of Robert Plant’s All The King’s Horses in All of Mine and the finality of sunsets and days in How Can You Walk Away?, David Botting has arguably offered the listener more than the usual cursory heart-felt emotion of a song. He has presented his actual heart instead, every memory, every thank you and fulfilled desire that a heart aches to show, is to be heard in this delightful and meaningful album.
Heart Beat, we all wish our could be heard loudly, we all wish we could show others how much it pumps love round; David Botting has realised that more than many of us could hope to do.
Ian D. Hall