Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Intensity without the ability to recognise that succumbing to rage can lead to a proposition of fate that will engulf all who come into contact with it, is akin to setting the world on Fire Without Water being on hand to control the engulfing concentration of passion, the ashes of integrity burning long after all who sought refuge have looked back with sadness at what could have been.
If you are going to create fire then by all means watch the flames lick and the strings of the guitar pulse with the spark of ingenuity but you must always remember the point of such intense production, that occasionally you need to give the audience the final, beautiful explosion they require to recall the moment they were introduced to you, and whilst not holding back, being able to evoke the notion that there so much more to come.
It is with this in mind that Ed Brayshaw brings his debut solo album to the forefront of the audience’s attention, and balances the nitro-glycerine packed sweat, the blood of fireworks and the tears of a hugely impressive package of songs at his disposal, and steps back, lights the fuse and waits for the fire to create imagery, shadows of suspense and the overall effect of a display of intense negation that is all at once, superb.
Across songs such as Say What You Will, When The Walls Come Down, The Call and the final pulsating track of Twilight, the question of water comes into play, nothing this hot should be dampened down, a musician who has humility woven into his D.N.A. has no reason to artificially place himself into the depths of a shower which will only produce discord and disharmony in his expressive outlook.
When we think of the surge of the yin and yang of intensity we forget that some have a natural affinity to such balance, it comes from learning, studying alongside masters of their craft, the student that was willing to listen every piece of advice offered them, and for those that conclude with certainty that in the end the fire is not only controllable but able to command at will, they are the ones who hold the secret of the magic of pyrokinesis in artistic form.
A stunning solo debut by Ed Brayshaw, magic in the palm of the hand.
Ed Brayshaw’s Fire Without Water is out now.
Ian D. Hall