Presshttp://www.rootstime.be/ (original text is in Belgian) - 1st November 2008 (translation kindly provided by Olivier De Ridder Country music, Carlisle, North-West England. Strange you say? No, there is no exclusivity for this genre, it's not for Nashville alone. Yet it's somewhat daunting to the ear to hear the 32-year old Steve McCormick sing his songs from his latest album "Lowlights and Footnotes" with a more British then American tongue. This album consists of 12 self-written tracks, which, despite their typical genre, manage to all have a different flavour. To the attentive ear, one can discover elements of folk, blues, rock 'n' roll. McCormick suprises by breaking the serious decorum by adding some funny sentences. He treats his songwriting with love and care, the way it should be for any good singer-songwriter. His musical influences don't suprise us: Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Aimee Mann, Ron Sexsmith, Elliott Smith and Leanard Cohen are names that any self-respecting artist classifies as the cornerstone for their music. In the track entitled "Making Light (Of Being Kept In The Dark)" even tends to lean to the pop sound which we would expect from The Eagles or Squeeze (who made their name in the eighties). Despite his genre, he wants to sometimes surprise us with a touch of swing, like in "Another English Cowboy" and "I'm Alright, Jack" or "Back on The Booze", numbers which can even be classified as engaging country rock. Steve recorded the complete album in his own studio, did his own mixing, produced it himself and the instrumentals are also his creation, except the pedal steel, beautifully played by Dave Midgley. The hard work consecrated to making this fine album, and the proud result after two years of intensive labour, certainly produced its fruit. In some songs he even tackles some more deep issues, like relationships, and the distrust which can occur in them, or heartbreak between a couple. In "The Other Man" he tells the story of an intruder into a relationship and "Breaking Hearts" paints the picture of a man who finds his pleasure in arrogantly breaking up other people's relationships, but in the end pays the price for his malicious conduct. "My Woman Doesn't Give a Damn" uses the simple country tunes to depict how a once oh-so-in-love couple after many years find themselves in a communicative dead-end-street and as such it seems that the end of their relationship is at hand. To conclude, we want to pay attention to the storytelling acoustic track "Innocent Place", featuring a heavenly pedal steel solo. Also, the song "Living in Loserville", telling the story of a man who is perfectly fine with a life of solitude, which we are sure will find its way to our speakers. Being a complete Do-It-Yourself Man, Steve McCormick has definitely delivered a beautiful professional piece with "Lowlights and Footnotes". He had no problem conquering our small heart with the ease of a breeze. |
