Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
There is a part of us that will long to disbelieve the obvious, that we seem to naturally distrust the word of another human being, that we will actively seek to prove them wrong. We can be told categorically, even see a sign, that proclaims the words Paint Still Wet and we will go out of our way to prove that they are amiss in their assertions, erroneous in the way they present the truth.
Yet the truth of the sign is paramount, Paint Still Wet is an instruction to behold, to understand that when it is ready it will provide beauty where before stood relics of other’s attempts at covering over the past, that instead what you will envision is greatness ready to be uncovered.
For Milwaukee born and Southwest raised Peggy James, Paint Still Wet heralds the return from the studio, armed and ready to display her own signs of observation, of demonstrating perfectly that we have within us the ability to be unique and be able to bond with others by opening up our heart beyond the closed door of our souls that we often hide behind.
The listener of any song wants, needs, to believe, to trust that the sign displayed is one fact, that their issues are with others who are out to shake them for a dime, and for the honest, for the toil and sweat provided by the sincere; and in Peggy James new studio album, there is nothing but straight forward and natural observation to be found, and the wet paint shines brightly underneath the pleasure of light.
Under the scrutiny of that light, tracks such as Can’t Do Lonely Anymore, Holdin’ Hands, Let’s Fly Away, Lighter Than A Feather and Scarlet And Gold not only relish the glare, they resonate, they glow with a passion that the voice handles with timing and intrigue.
Americana can be a devilish genre to crack, after one album, many fall by the way sides, but some, like Peggy James, continue to paint aural pictures that captivate the senses and make you wish for the simpler times in which music was all about trust and belief. Paint Still Wet is that wish delivered.
Peggy James releases Paint Still Wet on September 18th via Happy Growl Records.
Ian D. Hall