Lee Southall – Iron In The Fire
Enough time has passed now to consider that maybe the noughties didn't herald the great guitar-band revival we thought they did at the time, and that, in fact, a lot of it was just pish. I will, however, stand for The Coral until I draw my final breath, and not just because I once sang Dreaming Of You in a school assembly aged 13 playing a mandolin.
James Skelly and Bill Ryder-Jones have already made in-roads into solo artist territory, so now comes the turn of guitarist Lee Southall with Iron In The Fire, a record that feels more Laurel Canyon than The Wirral, or indeed, Hebden Bridge, where Southall has spent the majority of his time since the band disbanded, building walls and writing songs.
And hey, it's good. This is a Good Album. I'd be surprised if it ended up on any end of year lists, but it channels that Neil Young / Crosby, Stills & Nash thing pretty well, with shuffling drums and pedal steels used, and Southall has managed to retain his Merseyside twang through his singing voice, rather than affecting a cowboy's drawl, which is an annoying tendency amongst a few UK Americana acts.
The problem is that it feels a bit dated in the current musical climate, something made to appeal to fans of The Coral rather than garner a new audience of his own, maybe. Yesterday Morning, for example, feels like filler – it plods along without doing too much, without saying too much. If it came on in the car you probably wouldn't turn it off, but it's unlikely you'd remember it. Shade Of Blue sees him on better form, affording a little more space to the instrumentation, though it does still feel a bit Britpop. It goes without saying, though, that the guitar playing is really great, and it is nice to hear an abundance of solos and strong lead playing throughout.
It takes all sorts, I guess, and if Jake Bugg can carve out a niche for himself with his brand of Britpop folk, then there's every chance Southall can too. I wouldn't expect Iron In The Fire to pull up any roots, but it's definitely worth a listen; and for a debut, it's more than decent.
Listen to: Shade Of Blue, Iron In The Fire
Buy Lee Southall - Iron In The Fire on LP/CD from Norman Records