Duke Garwood – Dreamboatsafari

As a Londoner whose musical roots lie in Delta blues and early jazz, Duke Garwood is immediately distinguishable from your average solo songsmith. On Dreamboatsafari, his maverick approach results in a meandering take on stoner blues that recalls early Beck: think One Foot in the Grave, or the more wacked-out tracks on Mellow Gold. Fuzz guitar is laid over skittish percussion, occasionally accompanied by muffled, burned-out sax.

Another point of reference is Michael Hurley, whose music has a similar lazily eccentric quality. While Hurley is always warmly endearing, however, Garwood’s persona often feels distant and obscure – in large part because of the vocals’ frequent unintelligibility. This suggests a lack of confidence in the music’s personality, not helped by Garwood’s indulgence in some rather aimless instrumental excursions towards the end of the LP. Nonetheless, Dreamboatsafari has a distinctiveness and breadth of imagination unusual in the world of singer-songwriters. [Sam Wiseman]