Jerry David DeCicca – Understanding Land

The Black Swans are no more, their fifth and final album, 2012’s Occasion For Song, a frank meditation on the loss of band member Noel Sayre. Sayre was a close friend of Jerry David DeCicca, the band’s singer and songwriter, and the sombre tone of his final band recording informs much of this solo debut.

Recorded alone in his London flat and supported by a starry cast (including Will Oldham and Kelly Deal) who also added their parts from their homes, Understanding Land’s spare and muted arrangements are assembled from little more than acoustic guitar, strings and soft percussion, a setting that gives the various voices room to lift and breathe.

Eve Searls’ lead turn on Opportunity to Love might just break your heart, so beware, but this is DeCicca’s vision and he emerges as a grizzled troubadour of vision and heart. “I waited my turn to bloom again” is Understanding Land’s closing line. Quite. [Gary Kaill]