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gavinfriday_catholic
Artist: Gavin Friday
Title: Catholic
Genre: Alternative / Pop
Release Date: 9th May 2011 (digital) / 20th May 2011 (CD)
Label: Rubyworks/Cargo


Album Review

The paragraph to introduce GAVIN FRIDAY would be very long if I were to list each and every project of his, so I will only brush on the basics here. FRIDAY started his musical career in the ‘70s with a post-punk band THE VIRGIN PRUNES, and released several solo albums, some in collaboration with Maurice Seezer on the piano. He’s also a painter and had written and sung for several film soundtracks, notably for ‘In The Name Of The Father’, but the whole list of the movies he contributed to is impressive. His work wasn’t confined to writing and performing music for films, but he also acted in ‘Breakfast on Pluto’ & ‘Disco Pigs’. From film to theatre it wasn’t very far for him either. Four decades has brought him much acclaim and it’s well deserved. He’s obviously a multi-talented artist with a vast expanse of experience and range. If you should know them after their fruit, FRIDAY’s work reflects someone who is humble and yet comfortably confident and down-to-earth. He makes the listener feel at ease and establishes a trust and connection in a very natural way.

The upcoming album ‘Catholic’ is his fourth studio album. As he’s been busy in so many other fields there is a pause of 16 years from this one and his last solo album. FRIDAY has described this as "waking from a deep sleep, of letting go and coming to terms with loss". It certainly has a reflective feel of someone looking back at the life’s events and reckoning with them. There’s a lot of melancholy - something gained by an experience rather than created out of imagination - here. It also feels quite sensual and soft, relaxing as if you were sitting on the beach and watched the endless movement of ocean and fell into a reverie. The album indeed betrays his cinematic work, it lends itself visually also. One of the songs to pick out as highlights of the album is ‘It’s all ahead of you’ with its implementation of strings to underline its emotiveness, there’s a lot of sadness but the voice and lyrics are encouraging and caring, empowering even, altogether notable for its sensitivity which is present through the whole album.

‘Perfume’ for its liveliness, enjoyed the whispered-recited start, the easy rhythm working its way through, certainly a one of the tracks that bears a sensual feel, here in ample measure, a very rich song with so much to love about it! The bells at the end smoothly blending transition to the next song were a great touch too. The sound effects at the beginning of ‘Where’d Ya Go? Gone’ were another great way to introduce another remarkable song. It’s a very cinematic song with great lyrics and mood. The last ‘Lord I’m Coming’ is a superb finale, majestic and epic and going with the title’s theme, there’s an organ-atmosphere of the last mass. Another striking point of the music overall on the album is its effortless and authentic elegance. ‘Catholic’ is a truly wonderful album, enriching on the whole and a definite should-get.


Tracklist

01. Able – 4.46
02. Land on the Moon – 5.06
03. A Song that Hurts – 5.32
04. The only one – 4.16
05. Blame – 4.53
06. The Sun & The Moon & The Stars – 4.16
07. It’s all ahead of you – 4.34
08. Perfume – 3.34
09. Epilogue – 3.09
10. Where’d Ya Go? Gone – 4.40
11. Lord I’m Coming – 6.51


Line-up

Gavin Friday & guest musicians


Websites

http://gavinfriday.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/gavin.friday


Cover Picture

gavinfriday_catholic


Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 10
Total: 9.5 / 10


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