Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Allow your fingers to Trace The Line of exploration, let your senses be overwhelmed by the sentiment of others, and accept that the line could lead you to a place of paradise and personal redemption; for by following the line, no matter the curve, no matter the bearing, we are at our best when we allow fortune to have laid out a plotted course in which we can follow, which we can enjoy.
That line can become a signature, it rarely stays flat, and if we permit the emotions to wash over us then like a heart monitor it can make that overworked muscle seem a steady beat of music that keeps you interested in life.
Trace The Line, and you shall find what leads you to enlightenment, and in the new collaboration between Yvonne Lyon, Gareth Davies-Jones, and David Lyon, that illumination is automatically, and beautiful, engaging; the thickness of the line increases, and yet like braille it sends unseen messages to the power of the fingertips, the indentations of life are captured and framed without any deterring of sound and feeling, and the charm of the album, the physical presence of trio, whether as a group, or individually, is enormous, satisfying, and unreservedly welcome.
From the sincerity and the drama of the superb Revolution, and across tracks such as Trouble, In The Riot Of Love, The Mystery Inside, Comfort In The Tragedy, and The End Is Where We Start, the trio engage in harmonies that would soften the most dispirited of souls, would call to the troubled individual the rest they require, and the music, the sense of gravitas is rich varied and passionate, and shows the trio off in such a way that the listener cannot but help themselves to wanting, wishing for more.
An album of uncomplicated, assertive, beauty, an album that is a genuine highlight of the year. Trace The Line is bold, graceful, unforced emotion being captured like lightning in a bottle, it sparkles with joy and meaning, and one to which the listener is entranced by the destination found.
Yvonne Lyon, Gareth Davies-Jones, and David Lyon release Trace The Line on July 1st.
Ian D. Hall