Well, to be honest, I’m not sure what to say about this one.

Except that it’s just a tad epic, and I really like it. Takes me somewhere.

I’ve been thinking lately I need to let rip a bit more, bugger the conventions. Let the music damn well speak for itself. No over-thinking. Let it come as is, let whatever passion and thought be left to its raw crazy self; be it hushed, yelling, smooth and shaped or cobbled and burning hot. Continue reading →

Little ol’ 52 Songs has become an adult. Fully fledged. And yet… so much more to learn – I wouldn’t trust him with the car keys yet.

This little number is a cracker – right up there in my favourites list so far. A mix between pumping, driving rhythm and a chilled out vocal line, it does the heart good.

It’s a song about love without sounding like a song about love, at least in the olde classical ballad style (I hope). And that’s why it’s worth a listen, my friends.

What can you say is worth the world but the love of a good woman. Or a good man, of course. You choose.

Oh, how you saved me.

Keep it up-vibe and up-tempo, people. That’s the way to do it.

Hope you dig this one, it’s much more about fun and a good swig from a schooner – and singing along with a stompin’ foot!

I think we all need it.

This tune is based around a vibey strumming acoustic guitar, but with plenty of drums and voices adding to the mix. It puts a smile on my face, hope you feel the same.

Let it all out.

I like to think of this one as a bit of an olde tradional folk song. A Celtic whimsy from past days.

I started writing it maybe a week or so ago, first as a guitar piece with the litling melody floating through changing chords, and it grew from there. It was begging for harmonies, too.

It’s a song of comfort and care; something to hold on to when we need to remember the love that exists out there for us all, though sometimes forgotten or mislaid.

Musically, it’s entirely possible that I went slightly (read: waaay) overboard in the middle section, but I love it – besides, a rolling timpani crescendo is always a stirring beast for the soul.

See what you think. Folky, uplifting, releasing.

It’s all sparsity this week.

You know, upfront, I’m not entirely sure a lot of folks will immediately dig into this one, it’s not an easy track. It has very little movement in it and it’s a tad challenging with the quietness and the sudden, but brief, loudness; the emotional brawling.

But at the same time, I find it beautiful. It definitely aches. Continue reading →

We’re on the road.

I’ve had the verse of this song going on for a while now, and every time I came back to the song to re-draft it, I’d title it “Road Song”. Every time, no matter the changes.

It always felt like it was made to be heard as a car was gliding down a highway to who-knows-where, just as long as it was somewhere far away. Continue reading →

Mellow.

I unashamedly adore the vibe of this week’s song, it’s just so measured, so steady (slow!) and spacious.

And it’s founded on piano! The firsts just keep on coming in this project.

I’m also unashamedly not much chop on the ivories, but the piano part here is so laid back and simple that I figure I can get away with it. Continue reading →

Tongue. In. Cheek.

That’s what it’s all about this week! I thought it was high time for a fun song, nigh I get too serious and overwrought. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that…)

So, this song is for those who take a somewhat black-humoured view of the ups and downs of a thing like Facebook – like, umm, what the hell happened to personal contact in my friendships, man? Yeah. I said it. Continue reading →

This week’s piece is a short pretty one, a bit like a cloud floating past and then gone over the horizon. It’s a song for loving goodbyes, said to friends.

I tried to make this one sound almost live, just an acoustic and voice(s), so there’s all sorts of crackle and fret noise on the guitar. Low fi, man. But cool.

I feel like you could sing this song to someone leaving on an aeroplane, or leaving the world. There really aren’t many lyrics, but my favourite line is ‘Only time makes us cry’. Time apart, time lost, time spent less well than we should have.

Always a good thing to remember, I say.

This week’s song is a low-light, late-night, quiet old thing, perfect for turning up loud and spacious inside a pair of really good headphones.

It’s about those moments when you can see someone you care about descending into a mire, into their heads, away from the world and stuck – it’s terribly hard but at the same time, you’ve got to try and coax them back out.

Sometimes you need to say, don’t become glued to darkness, don’t decide to stay down, don’t go away from the world to a spot where no one can reach you; don’t anchor there.

Sometimes you gotta be told to pull up anchor and set sail again.

Sure there’s sadness, but in those places there is also room for hope.