Teaming up with the cream of London’s alt-country rock scene
lifts the sound into a heady territory as the largely country influenced tones
that brought us the 2015 eponymously titled album have to jostle side-by-side
with bundles of sculptured garage pub rock. Any record spearheaded on guitar by
Paul Lush (who also handles the production duties) is bound to contain loads of
fired up twangy rock, and the inclusion of this in addition to loads more smart
instrumentation blends imperially with the distinct quirky vocals of Simon
Stanley Ward. Factor in incisive writing across ten tracks and the overall feel
to his record escalates into a mood of generating multi spins.
If three plays of a record deliver a gist, double figures
(if intent moves it in that direction) embeds the subtleties and nuances that
improve an album as you strip away the layers. It is easy to hold onto opening
track ‘Jurassic Park’ where the post-punk
undertones help deliver a fast-paced ode to wishing one-self was Jeff Goldblum
in the film of the title track. This is a track that instantly breeds familiarity;
a feeling that repeats itself when realising that ‘Water (You Got to Have it)’ was a song brought to events like
Maverick and Tingestock, during the last time that Simon played dates with Paul
Lush to significant audiences outside his London hinterland.
Apart from the lively opener, the other two tracks to hit
the mark in the early stages were the retro feel to ‘I Heard it All’ and the riveting ‘Wow!’ complete with a scintillating two minute guitar-fuelled
outro. Several plays in and the environmental message of ‘Beluga Whale’ took hold, while the back end duo of ‘Goodbye’ and ‘Stand Up’ had to painstakingly wait before ensuring this album
attained entity status in deriving maximum appeal. Ending the album with the wonderfully
weird connotations of Spanish Rioja, Test Match Special and Five Live in ‘Wine’ can only fuel a bizarre imagination,
but a bloody marvellous one to boot.
The decision of Simon Stanley Ward to return to recording musician status has reaped wild rewards and thus re-enforce the admirable attributes he possess in this line of entertainment. Enlisting the services of an experienced and talented team gives this album a real edge to move out of an introverted zone and show that reaching out to a range of likeminded though different styles can work. SONGS FROM VARIOUS PLACES may bounce around a flexible canvas, but it delivers a verdict that Simon Stanley Ward may have to balance his artistic activities in music and comedy for the considerable future.