Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The conviction in anybody’s voice when they declare themselves to be completely sure of themselves is as heartening to hear as it is desperate to hear the soft, perhaps muted and terrified cries of someone who proclaims to the world that they are lost. Whether in spirit, direction or in purpose, that sense of loss, of sole grief at the way that Time has at being erased is as palpable an experience to sit and listen to as the joy that one who has always known their purpose was to entertain and enthral gives the listener.
What is rare is to have both convictions, both states of mind sitting in direct contrast but with humble like merging, a reunion of souls taking place in which dichotomy is but a word out of place and in which the real victor is realisation and happiness.
That rare quality comes in the form of Alex Wood’s superbly crafted album I Am Not Lost, an album of stunning conviction and confidence but also one that the music, despite being in the camp of the upbeat reveals, is still one that isn’t afraid to highlight the undercurrent within. I am Not Lost is not just a personal statement, it is proving a point that within all of us, there is still a sense of keeping hold of something pure, something uncontaminated by the curse of modern life, close to the very point of being.
The laidback Blues, a sort of dichotomy in its self, surveys each song and gives it a resounding lift, a seal of approval before allowing it to set sail on many an ocean; content and clean, the hull stacked with hope and guided by a captain who understands the perils of being too close to the edge of the world.
Tracks such as One Stone, the excellent Banker’s Boy, Street Preacher, the truth in the idea of Hiding Behind My Guitar and the crushing wonderful finale that plays out in Begged, Stole & Borrowed all give that appeal of calling out to the lost and frightened, the despairing and the misplaced, as if not only offering shelter but a rallying call to the soul to dig deep and seek a port in which they will take care of you until ready to progress as all should.
An album of complex dichotomy but one that is completely true to is own self belief, Alex Woods has created something quite unique.
Ian D. Hall