Testament to the power of artistic companionship.
“Home” is the charming result of a collaboration between Xan Tyler from Glasgow and Amsterdam-based Jonathan Brown, aka Dusty Stray. Both are highly accomplished solo performers who have made several individual albums. They met through mutual admiration for each other’s work, and their musical partnership has evolved with this project. The album was recorded remotely during COVID, with tracks being sent back and forth and fashioned between their two studios. The fact that they were not together when they recorded “Home” makes its warmth and intimacy all the more remarkable.
The quality of the mix is delightful, and as a duet, their voices match each other’s perfectly. Both are extremely generous with the space they give each other, and when they actually come together, the result is utterly charming.
The album has ten tracks in all, eight of which are original and two covers, Skeeter Davis’s ‘The End of the World’ and the relatively obscure Daniel Johnston’s ‘True Love Will Find You in the End’. Both offer a completely different interpretation of the originals, the latter having a very curious drone effect which works well. Of the original songs, they all have a slightly introspective feel to them, very much in the Velvet Underground manner, especially when Nico was to the fore. ‘I Should Have Said’ opens with the almost apocalyptic lines “I loved you like the world was about to end. Impossible Happiness, drowning in content”. Tyler’s slow, dreamy delivery over a nicely picked, sparse guitar and occasional harmonica gives it an almost otherworldly feel. This feeling is replicated and is not untypical throughout. It is not an easy album to pigeonhole.
This album is in no rush; it takes its time to meander and rewards the patient listener with an intimate, gentle, uplifting listening experience. They clearly have a strong musical synergy, which would only be enhanced by a more conventional recording process, which will be worth checking out if it happens. Hopefully, that will come to fruition in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, settle back and enjoy the delights of ‘Home’ – you won’t be disappointed.
