Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Intensity is a virtue that is often treated as if it is an instrument of power, of exploitation, rather than the thought of demonstrated appreciation and the stepping-stone to fulfilment, it all depends on the circumstance, the application, the means of delivery to which few manage to convey with sincerity of heart and without seeming to go overboard and headlong in to the realm of unrequited devilish glee.
To be secure in your opinion is to not be close-minded, but to open to other’s thoughts, and for Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones the opinion is vital. The music they produce for this the eponymously titled third album is one of self-assurance and the beating heart to which comes from the raw and unabridged talent that nestles securely in the body and is, wonderfully, infectious to the point of purity.
When it all boils down to it, music is all about how it draws in the soul of the one who was not expected to take part; the two way conversation which starts out as a monologue, never believing it has something to share that others will find enlightening, moving, stirring, and yet with confidence and the airing of its voice, becomes a dialogue of precision, that the raw can be seen as an experienced player with substance and meaning.
For Hannah Wicklund that raw energy that was keenly displayed and held tightly by the fans in the past has evolved, developed sharply, and the intensity of the conversation has become emphasised and underlined, the importance of the groove created cannot be underestimated. As songs such as Ghost, Mama Said, Strawberry Moon, Too Close To You and Shadowboxes And Porcelain Faces all take the centre stage, the listener cannot but feel the emotion tied to power, not for selfish reasons, but instead for those which we seek to infuse as compassion and belief in all.
In an album that scorches the dust from the eyes and the fog from the mind, Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones have found a creative peace which will grab the heart of those felled by the proper use of intensity, that of strength with the purpose of the passionate believer.
Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones release their eponymous third album on Friday 13th September via Strawberry Moon Records.
Ian D. Hall