Reviewed by Rose Edwards

The latest effort from South West England-based singer/songwriter Dan just has too many styles in each song for them to work while production is often little above 'bedroom demo'. The lyrics are completely overshadowed by the poor choices that are made. You have the feeling that he and the assembled musicians threw everything at it in hope that something stuck. So one is faced with a mix of warring styles with rock style guitars clashing with dainty piano sequences that at times could leave you with a sense of unease as not all the notes work together. There is also a strong sense of repetition as short guitar and piano sequences repeat over and over again until the lyrics are the only thing that make you know that the CD hasn't stuck. However the album does start to redeem itself towards the end with songs like "Safety Is Security" where they stick to one style and "A New Story" where you get the building arrangement that by that time the listener craves. These bright spots aren't enough to save a mediocre album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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