Gareth Davies-Jones - Water And Light

Water and Light, the fifth album from singer-songwriter Gareth Davies-Jones, is full of the traditional sounds you might expect of a record inspired by scenery and history of the sort considered here. Delicate yet confident guitar-picking, violins and the occasional bit of panpipery create a pleasant folk sound. Second track Breathe is most memorable and Cost is endowed with fitting female harmonies, evoking images of story-telling in a local pub. Lyrically, however, is the domain where Davies-Jones clearly aims to excel. Claiming to tackle issues of social injustice in a “warm and sometimes wistful way”, his words are poetically home-grown, yet at times pushing the message a little too much (Butterfly includes the line: “You see a mother walks over sixteen miles, because the medicine’s scarce for an African child.”). Still, credit should be given for eschewing the typical 'I got dumped and I’m sad about it' topics normally covered by his genre mates. A gentle listen, this effort is definitely heartfelt, if not quite everyone’s cup of organic green chai. [Lauren Mayberry]