Third studio album from Birmingham singer-songwriter Loz Rabone blends a range of easy melodies and relatable stories with high quality musicianship. The result? Definitely one for your Sunday afternoon playlist.

Release Date: Available now

Label: Bandcamp

Format: Digital and CD

World Weary

Rabone can be found almost every week playing in the various live music venues around the Midlands. There’s no doubt that he works hard, but neither hard work nor talent alone ensure success. His relaxed, slightly gravelly vocal style weaves neatly constructed songs with appealing, relatable lyrics. Overall, the album could be autobiographical or Rabone could simply know what appeals to his target audience very, very well.

The opening track, Curses & Blessings is a lament indeed, a world weary tale of someone struggling through the advancing years. Brownfield Road is a nostalgic nod to a past which could have been. “Time has a way of taking its toll, so try and grow without growing old.” Lazy turns in a more bluesy direction with a story about kicking back, relaxing and enjoying time together.

Sound of the Crowd

The In Crowd is the high point of the album, with regard to songcraft. A tight, well composed call to ignore the pressure to fit in with certain social groups. There’s a tinge of loneliness in rejecting the popular, of course. “I don’t want to play along so I can belong in the in crowd… I won’t pretend that I like who you are so I can belong to the in crowd.” Anyone who likes to walk their own path can certainly relate to this.

A Troubador’s Lament follows an already strong composition with the energetic high point of the set. It takes us on a more upbeat journey with a shift to a cheerful country style. It’s oddly the least lamentable song on the album and the bouncing melody complements the story of someone making the most of the cards dealt in life.

My Hearts Desire takes the mood down a notch with a hint of light reggae and an age-old story of a man letting his heart rule his head. To be fair, the woman in the story doesn’t exactly come out smelling of roses either.

Emotional Impression

Sleepwalking raises the tempo back up and reminds us to connect with life and not just go along with the flow. “How can I get to a place that I just can not find?” How indeed. It’s a return to the theme of walking one’s own in path, and the price paid for that independence. “I’ve tried to follow the footprints in snow… Maybe I’m finding the footprints are only my own.”

If I Could brings the pace back down with a song which sprinkles words against a major/minor harmony rather than telling a particular story like the others on the album. It creates an emotional impression rather than conveying a particular interpretation. The lyric “Don’t try to find meaning” explains it pretty well.

Lonesome As I Go moves even further into that reggae space. It’s a trademark of the Birmingham area with bands such as UB40 and Steel Pulse sitting squarely in the reggae camp and The Beat and The Specials adding energy to the style to create ska. Rabone picks up the offbeat baton and captures the essence of that unique Midlands reggae sound.

Worldly Wisdom

Candlelit Photographs heads back down into nostalgia territory. It’s a little mournful, steeped in unanswered questions and soul searching. If you have any regrets in life, this song will certainly indulge them.

Rose Tinted concludes the album proper with a return to a soft, melancholy blues/country style. The subject matter of the song sums up the entire album pretty well, weaving nostalgia into hope for the future. Youthful optimism meets worldly wisdom in a place where life is OK, no change is required, things just are what they are. Things weren’t simpler and better when you were young, it’s just a trick of the memory. It’s both a sorrowful reminder of the passing years and a message of hope, that actually getting older isn’t so bad after all. If nothing else, where you are today is built on a foundation of yesterday’s good memories.

Lonesome (Reprise) revisits a previous track. Many albums feature reprise tracks at the end, this one is unusual in that it’s almost as long as the song itself. I guess Rabone just really liked the tune. Or maybe he wanted to show off his guitar pedals and reverb effects. It’s almost an instrumental but not quite, with a bit of chorus and a bit of dialogue that sounds like it’s from an old radio show or audio book. I can’t quite say why but I’m reminded a bit of Scritti Politti.

Worthy of a Thorough Listen

Overall, Rabone’s songwriting style and lyrical choices appeal to a certain generation. The songs reflect on a point in life where there are perhaps more years behind than ahead and with the optimism of youth tainted by experience. Many of the songs sound eerily familiar, though if they are inspired by others then I can’t quite say who or what. Artists such as Tom Robinson and Steve Winwood come to mind, even The Moody Blues and Jeff Lynne of ELO. Nothing specific, just a general feel for the soundscape and lyrical environment created by Rabone.

A Troubador’s Lament is a story of a lone guitar-slinger walking his own path through the world and taking you along for the ride. The lasting impression is that Rabone’s work is brilliant yet understated, worthy of a thorough listen and deserving of far greater recognition. Perhaps that is yet to come.

Here’s the opening track:

Loz Rabone online: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Spotify / YouTube / Bandcamp

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