Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Wearing your heart upon your sleeve could lead to you being seen as a target for the kind of people who enjoy the art of self-sacrifice, the ones that find ways to continue the suffering of those who seek enlightenment, reflection, self-determination as they evolve and grow into the realm of the spectacular and driven. However, those that have the confidence to openly declare their feelings, who never betray for a single minute their emotions and sentiments, are richly rewarded with the art of the world and the Means Of Escape that their belief holds dear.
For Danny Bryant the Means Of Escape is also one that is defined by the acceptance of his path as one of the finest exponents of the Blues genre of the 21st Century, deft, vivid in his performance and lyrical themes, his appreciation of how life can be, and is surely meant to be, one of the emotional pleasure and turmoil, rather than the unadventurous, under whelming deceit practised by the ones who dodge the efforts of poignancy and the moving of hearts.
Being critically acclaimed comes with its own pattern of understanding, the trap of falling into the well of other’s constant demands can bring the negativity to the fore, the sense of abandoning one’s own passions and pursuits as you begin to second guess yourself is one that affects the psyche. What Danny Bryant has succeeded in doing, especially in this new album, is to rein that expectation back, and to follow his own inner voice, be that one that is tempered with regret, grief or even joy, the artist must always be true to himself first and foremost; it is a sentiment that has been honour bound by Mr. Bryant fully and with incredible results.
Across songs and instrumentals such as Tired of Trying, which is dedicated to Danny Bryant’s great hero and friend Walter Trout, the in depth, almost turmoil like, feelings of loss that inhabits Skin and Bone, the splendid Warning Signs (In Her Eyes), Hurting Time and the beautiful melody that responds with agility and care in the influential Mya, the musician brings the true self, the emotion and involvement to the door of the listener and undoes the bow that surrounds it, leaving the pleasure of final unwrapping to the recipient of this boundless gift to be tantalisingly revealed.
A gorgeous, sensual album, one sought after as a reminder that the Means Of Escape is often in our own hands.
Danny Bryant releases Means Of Escape on Friday 20th September via Jazzhaus Records.
Danny Bryant will be performing at the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room on the 8th October.
Ian D. Hall