Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Imagine being caught between two great trains of thought, both compelling, both arguments are convincing, fascinating, forceful, and dynamic, and yet they are geopolitically, geographically, socially and diametrically opposed to each other; just how do you stand in what might be considered a reasonable choice, and yet find yourself feeling the nag, the small element of doubt that pulls at your being, wanting to believe in both worlds but knowing you are going to have be brave and oppose both states of mind.

You could sit on the fence in blissful ignorance, you could sit in the international waters that straddle a continent of choice, as if you were placing one foot Over The Red Sea and seeing Africa and Asia and remaining neutral on the grounds of love and hope. It is admirable to reach out and attain reason in such a manner, but sometimes you have to make a decision, for as those waves lap at your feet, you realise you have to make a home somewhere, and on the fence is not the one in which to drink a beer in comfortably, not without falling off, not without feeling the pull of contention.

Stephen Doster understands implicitly that choice leads to a fruitful perspective, one in which you own as the situation and the art becomes clear, and as his latest album, Over The Red Sea, takes shape, the sense of placing the images in his mind and positioning the majority of them perfectly in the acoustic world is a decision of might, of worth, and each one is a travelogue of the exposed mind and thought.

This diary of positioned points on a globe, a programme of contemplation is one of peace, an acoustic force delved in the quiet of consideration, and as tracks such as The Singer’s Bus Driver, A Better World, Blue Heron, We Still Have Today, The Rooster Crows, and Who’s Crying Now, all dedicate themselves to the belief of ponder, so the true language and genius of the artist shows through, that humanity was not meant to sit still in one place and stagnate, nor was it meant to choose a side, but to see the argument in its own environment and looking for dissention in its own setting.

Only by looking Over The Red Sea from a tremendous height can we witness and explore the whole picture between two great thoughts and beliefs, for Stephen Doster he already knows that belief is a state of mind and he is willing to let us in on the secrets he has found.  

Stephen Doster’s Over The Red Sea is out now and available from Faw Records. 

Ian D. Hall