Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The world of Bright Young Things always manages to bring to the listener’s attention to the next musician or artist as if it there was by some remarkable chance a magic conveyer belt on a constant speed going past your eyes and senses; no sooner have you been told that you have heard the next Frankie Valli, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Debbie Harry or any iconic vocalist worth the test of time, then the next one comes along at frightening pace. It could be that our attention spans have decreased, no longer able to relish the length of time it takes to truly appreciate a young musician; or it could be that programmes such as The Voice have made it impossible to look beyond the next five minutes.
Into the blazing and unrelenting sunshine filled day always comes the black cloud and the thought that Today It Rains, a sense of reverse optimism; for in that rain stands the hope that we can be immersed in the power of nature for longer than most can usually stand, caught out in the open, our hands cupped in anticipation, we deserve to drink inexhaustibly at this fortunately timed appearance of a one who can fill our attention; Today It Rains with the joy and hope of Esme Bridie.
The assuredness of Ms. Bridie’s lyrics and self penned range of thought is heartening, it is the downpour of so much young person’s channelled thoughts that touch the raw nerve that we have lost our way; that we really don’t give enough recognition for what this generation has gone through in their lives, the way that Government has made them scapegoats, that in many ways we have seen them, not as people with ideas and promise, but as an enemy, and in that the rain turns to thunder and flooding ensues.
In the songs Big Brown Boots, In Love With The City, Old Love (How Did We Get This Way), The Queen Bee, Self Destructive and What You Had Yesterday there is the feel of the young woman singing to a darkened room, the spotlight solely on her and the soft sound of whispered congratulations between the tables is to be heard; these are songs that would not be out of place in a New York club, the riot of humanity all around but in this room, at this time, all ears are trained in positive pleasure for the sound of rain.
An honest and fruitful album, Today It Rains is one to have in your collection that will hold back the tide of constant apathy with all the prowess that makes Esme Bridie a generous find.
Ian D. Hall