An impressive blues-influenced mixture of laid-back and edgier numbers.
Coast of Light is Luke Winslow-King’s ninth album after having debuted with Luke Winslow-King in 2008. It is a bit of an outlier from many of the albums covered by AUK, in that it is mainly influenced by the blues rather than the folk or country that can be heard in the music of many americana artists. About half of the tracks here are laid-back and mellow, with little “edge,” or the swing and beat of country music. Having said that, the music is very easy on the ear, with the songs growing on you after repeated listens, and it will appeal to many, though not, perhaps, to huge fans of The Fall or The Cramps. Winslow-King impresses with the music he has written, featuring changes in pace, rhythm, and instrumentation throughout many songs. It is no “three chords and the truth”.
The album gets off to a good start with the memorable What’ll We Do. Starting with gentle guitar picking and half-sung, half-whispered vocals, it develops musically, with, for example, gentle lead guitar coming in. The words are seemingly about a relationship coming to a crux- a Should I Stay Or Should I Go moment.
Next, there is the evocative title track, influenced by his new life in Spain. Winslow-King is originally from Michigan and loved the blues of artists such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. He moved to New Orleans, where he learned his trade busking on the streets playing Woodie Guthrie songs. He met his close friend Roberto Luti there, and Luti plays guitar on the album and co-produced it with him. Winslow-King now lives in the Aragon region of North-East Spain, but Coast of Light refers to the Mediterranean near Cadiz in the south. He was walking along the coast with his wife, and it is a love song to her. He conveys the atmosphere beautifully: “Tangerine sands glint/ In the strands of your hair/ Mmm we had such a time/ Sweeter than camomile wine”.
There is a nice soulful groove on Destiny, a love song to his soulmate, and on The Silent Hour, which has lyrics from the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Both have xylophone-like mallet percussion from Giacomo Riggi, which works well and is a good variation.
But it’s not all mellow on the album, with, for example, Dangerous Blues delivering a punch. Winslow-King heard an acapella version of the song, and he and Luti put it to their own music. About guns- the Colt 45 and Winchester 32-20- it has the tough guy lyrics, “Shot my pistol in the wrong man’s town”. However, Winslow-King sees it more as reflecting the almost inescapable cycle of gun violence in the US, something he has become more aware of since moving away. The vigorous blues of Shot From the Hip Def is in a similar vein, portraying a world where people increasingly resort to violent “frontier justice”. And those who are not averse to a bit of boogie will enjoy the Quo-like Don’t Worry Your Mind, with some nice keyboard on show. Teacher’s Desk has a folky-jig riff on lead guitar and a psychedelic feel. The album ends with the rough-edged old-time blues of In The Evening.
This is an album that will be enjoyable to fans of the blues who like laid-back americana and music that errs on the side of complexity.
