Norman John Darwen – September 12, 2016 at 05:44PM
Tags:_AMERICANA
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player Eric Sommer is something of a maverick, having worked with Nick Lowe and Wreckless Eric and a whole bunch of blues and roots artists, Based across Boston (where he came out of the folk scene in the 80s) and Houston, Eric is here backed by Jim Oakley on various percussive items and Zach Smith on bass. This is a richly varied EP – it opens with a couple of numbers perhaps best described as blues-hoedowns, slide guitar and wailing harp driving along enthusiastic sing-along harmonies and particularly on ‘Cereal Song’, seemingly rather crazy lyrics. ‘Best Foot Forward’ is thoughtfully quiet, with just the merest hint of jazz, in contrast to the throbbing, poppy ‘Doin’ Wrong’ and the country flavoured ‘Cover My Soul’ with its deceptively simple but so spot-on acoustic guitar work and Dylanesque vocals. ‘What A Day I Had’ leans towards vintage southern gospel and Americana, ‘Death Ray Cataclysm’ tends again towards new wave pop, with a mid-60s feel and pop references, and whilst some numbers here seem to mash up Elvis Costello with John Hammond Jr, John Lennon and ‘John Henry’, this intriguing set finishes with the electric ’Hold Your Hand’, with bits of The Beatles, The Kinks and The Ramones all in there somewhere.
Norman Darwen
(wwwericsommer.com)
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