Alt Country’s sunnier climes.
Ed Soles is the guitarist for Bristol band Langkamer and “Cash Mountain” is his first solo project. On its final track, ‘Solus Soles Weekend Blues’, he laments, “I wrote this song, but there’s no one to sing along”. In the lyrics, he name-checks a few of his friends and their precise whereabouts, so he finds himself alone on a Saturday night, being provoked into writing a song. This rather mundane storyline is manipulated into an enjoyable summer pop song. Indeed, the whole album has a warm and sunny disposition, with Soles reflecting on and playfully referencing a multitude of things with wit and charm.
Soles can definitely write a tune. On the record he’s ably assisted by Dave Weir on drums, Sam Haward or Chris Howarth on bass and Pete Woollaston on guitar. The studio band has improvised to good effect with a variety of overdubs and harmonies, including clarinet, banjo, pedal steel, and piano. “Cash Mountain” was recorded alongside producer Ben Andrews at Cavendish Studios. Title Track ‘Cash Mountain’ has Soles cleverly writing about the TV show ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’. It has a high-paced country rock chorus and is the most polished track on the album. Soles writes about the day-to-day existential struggles of a songwriter in ‘Cohen’s Bloomer’ and a band with the best days behind them called ‘Mount Pleasant The Band’. There are a few tracks that don’t work so well, such as ‘Little Lamb’ and ‘Jack of All Trades’.
An enjoyable listen. Whether you feel inclined to sing along with Soles beyond the summer is a moot point.
