David Ward Maclean / Acts of Faith @ Sandman Magazine

This album was sent with the suggestion that it should be listened to at least three times before judging it. As it turns out that suggestion was spot on. On the surface you’ve got a simple, warm collection of acoustic songs. Burrow a little deeper and it’s full of sophistication masquerading as simplicity. In short this is a work of real class.

For the last dozen or so years the exiled Scot has been hailed on, rained on and paid by the yard in the noble work of street busking. A year or so ago the floodgates opened and he started writing his own songs again. Earlier this year, after recording some earlier demos with The Yards Chris Helme he decamped to a church in Glasgow and finally recorded his debut album.

It’s easy to forget sometimes how versatile the guitar can be, all we’ve got here is six string , a twelve string and a voice. It’s not folk music although there are traces of Bert Jansch in the playing – there are moments when you think there are two guitars at work It’s classic songwriting mainly in the modal form. Think of someone like Jose Gonzales but with stronger tunes and more flexibility.

A track like Tell & Showbears endless listening. It sounds simple, just two movements with a dropped sixth but the vocal melody takes its own paths. Lyrically it’s dense and opaque, leaving plenty to the listener. Caddis Fly is also stunning.

This is clearly the work of a mature artist, not just in terms of the artist’s age but of musical experience. Years spent interpreting other people’s music on the streets of York has ended up on an album that combines rare technical craft and skill with moments of beauty and an emotional depth which is simply beyond his junior contemporaries.

Jack Tractor (Sandman Magazine)

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