Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The idea of starting over is enough to fill some with dread, push them into the unexpected quarter of retreating from what they know and becoming a shadow of themselves, a spirit to whom their lives that they knew meant to much and now they cannot function in the cold light of further inspection, of performing solo when they once had a partnership in which to hold onto.

For others though it becomes natural, this state of affairs in which you might have had to cross oceans, cross cities and learn a series of new expressions on the way, that is the great journey in which some hearts thrive and the soul offers the reward of new perspectives enjoyed in return.

It is a reward to both artist and listener alike as Amit Dattani releases his new album Santiago with the simplicity and creativity that his abundant craft deserves. It is a simplicity that is full of imagination, of that greatest gift that we possess, the fundamental moment in which the spark sets fire to the fertile ground around our thoughts and watches the shoots crack open in a blaze of colour and energetic finger picking.

Part of the acclaimed duo Mellow Peaches, Amit Dattani has already proved his polish and mettle in the hands of the guitar, now by going back to basics, a single voice relishing the sudden burst of the star above, and the glare in which it casts over the whole of all that has gone before, Mr. Dattani admirably conquers the fears that undoubtedly besiege us all, and comes out with a set of songs that are both illuminating and offering solace to the transition of change with ease.

In songs such as the album title track, Santiago, Izzy, the traditional Swing and Turn, Raise The Dead and Will The Circle Be Unbroken, the change can be seen as good thing, a step away and back to the original fruits first laboured for is a reminder that time has be sought out as a friend, that no matter how important or grand you may become. If you treat time to the places where you once were, where you sat and mused of the good things to come, then Time will gladly join you and allow you the vision again to see beyond the tentative first steps.

Amit Dattani has offered an album in which to feel the beginning of a person’s life start again, the joy in the fingers as they start the process which earned them recognition, Santiago is the epitome of that genius being fresh life.

Ian D. Hall