Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
We all love a storyteller, their words and means of delivery are at the heart of the essence of humanity; and yet we perhaps don’t give them all the credit they deserve, only venerating themselves when the emotions fall, in the audience’s mind, like A Sudden Rain that comes out of the ether and refreshes all it touches, turning parched ground to a forest of green, idyllic, lush grass.
The atmosphere created by the likes of John Meed is not abrupt or unexpected, but it creates in its precipitous tension a veritable oasis in the deserts of emotions and feelings to await their harvest with a smile and heart full of curiosity and attentiveness.
The sense of fulfilled flawlessness that resides in John Meed’s exploration of sound and the haunting additional, unhindered string arrangements reflects the continued abundance of thought that the musician utilises as he releases his ninth album, A Sudden Rain; and it is to this beauty of lingering cool and melancholic, heartfelt contemplation that the music musters drama and spectacle for the aurally minded and open of imagination.
The additional support and strings placed within the record, supplied by the outstanding Lucinda Fudge and Matt Kelly, the sense of progression is to be applauded and cheered from the rooftops, and within mind that the artist themselves admitting to a drought of inspiration, to open the gates and witness a flood of ideas is compelling and visionary.
Across tracks such as Real Life, the in depth understanding of consequence and being on the side of history in Cotton Famine Road, the appreciation of friendship that is unearthed in Le Boulevard de Strasbourg, and the dramatic adoration for the remarkable Zoe Kaltaki in the rooted and confidently observed Thessalonika, what is reawakened from drought is replenished and reawakened by standing out in the rain.
A wonderful album, John Meed proving that inspiration is only a storm cloud away, and one that can bring a soul back to life in its wake.
John Meed releases A Sudden Rain on March 22nd.
Ian D. Hall