Acoustic, dreamy and enriching.
The new album from Casey Neill follows up quite quickly from last year’s ‘Sending up Flares’ which he did with his band the Norway Rats. It’s mostly a solo affair, largely acoustic, and is a far more reflective collection of songs. For those interested ‘Time Zero Land’ is named after the Polaroid Time Zero Onestep SX-70 Land camera (every day is a school day). All through, his playing is very clean and his voice is full and distinctive. In places, it is reminiscent of Richard Shindell.
He has been influenced in his writing over the years by both Scottish and Irish folk songs, paying homage to these on the classic traditional folk song contained here ‘The Rocks of Bawn’. It is a very slowed-down, stripped version and works extremely well, a welcome addition to those who have tackled it previously. More reflection takes place in ‘When Came the Change’ “Was it even a specific day eroding the ties that bind like the sea wall falling in the bay battered by so many waves”. The album is full of these dream-like metaphors which make it an extremely interesting listen almost poem-like.
He laments in ‘The Mallow Road’ “We are all travelers in our own isolation tuned to our own station”. You feel he is not at one with this situation but has become resigned to it, while ‘The Distance Ahead’ is a track that sums up the overall mood beautifully. He finds himself as “one of those lost and in between space straddling the centuries trying to keep pace”. Throughout he is constantly trying to make sense of today’s challenging world. ‘This Ragged Acre’ which has a distinctive Native American feel. Melancholic, is the stand-out of many excellent tracks.
Neill has been described as a Road Warrior. This album certainly has the feel of a man who has spent a long time out there. It has highs and lows as you would expect but something more. It is an album made by someone who obviously cares and has plenty to say about his observations, hopes, and fears. As a result, the world is enriched.
