Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Timely is the country that listens, blessed is the country that learns, whether it is from its mistakes, or from its humility in victory, a country that finds ways to be conciliatory and proactively willing to offer the hand of friendship to its enemy, can look itself in the mirror and say, we also too can add to civilisation and honour.
It is honour and a special breed of insightfulness in observation that brings Darlin’ Brando’s latest recording, Also, Too, to the public’s attention, an album of musical glory and appetite, but one that also speaks volumes of how a low point in life can bring the change needed to gain a more enlightened perspective.
An album steeped in peace of generous mind, but with the spirit of excess desire sewn throughout, a tapestry of vibrant colour and charge that threatens to explode, that boils to a furious crescendo and yet somehow manages at all times to caress and soothe the furrow of the collected dreams of the listener.
In the awareness of dichotomy, we gauge just how sincere the believer is, how they greet the fan with their vision, and as tracks such as Those Old Demons, Weeds & Flowers, the angst of participation in Crumbling Marriages, Last Call and The Old Man And The Kid all shining examples of how a song can be measured against the expectation of the soul when it is being hammered by the cruelty of life and the breath-taking response of the artist in us all when we confront it back with kindness and the beat of heart ready to sing.
The benefit of collaboration is also one of pleasure, and with Darlin’ Brando mixing his duties on vocals and drums, there is ample room for the persuasion of Brian Clements, Adam Kurtz, Jeff Malinowski, Storm Rhode IV, Ryan Payton, A.J. Croce and the elemental Edith Freni, to add their own intricate support to the project; a provision of substance that adds determined depth to an already dramatic set of songs.
If a country that listens is to be praised, then a person who pays attention and observes all is surely to be commended, and in Also, Too, Darlin’ Brando fully deserves that commendation; spirited, flush with vigour, deviously outrageous, a collection of songs that just never stop rocking.
Darlin’ Brando’s Also, Too is out now.
Ian D. Hall