Music Review Band: No Fixed Abode CD: Clearwater Genre: Crossover- Celtic/folk -acoustic When you are a Radio DJ, you could be having lunch sitting atop a telephone pole and it’s guaranteed that somebody will climb that pole and shove their CD in your hand. They will then commence to spout some well-rehearsed chatter about how their album is a cut above the rest and the world will stop if only you’d play it. And you know something, that’s okay. It’s our job to listen, evaluate, and play the music if it qualifies within that allusive, nondescript criteria we refer to as “Taste.” Naturally I refer to independent radio stations where airplay of a song is based on merit and not some payola or marketing commandment. But the sad truth is in the current scene, most of the music reflects artists simply trying to clone themselves in the image of other successful bands. And this redundancy spans all genres. So, it is with pure elation that I write this review of No Fixed Abode’s latest CD, “Clearwater.” From the first few notes of “What Did I Do” they had me. The song launches into a rolling rhythm that has enough hooks at the start to catch a Great White, followed by Una Walsh’s Angelic vocal that insists you listen on. I was instantly convinced that these folks were seasoned professionals and yes, a cut above. The second song on the CD, “Kebab Crazed Nutter” slapped me back. I struggle for the words here. This is the song that caused me to throw out any preconceived ideas I was forming to fit what this band was all about. Here is a tune that I can only describe as Celtic Gypsy. Actually, it fully breaks out of any definitions of any genre. It takes you to a place only your imagination can go. Have a listen, you’ll see what I mean. The fourth tune, “The Salty Sea Dog” Was a flowing, rolling tune that started to reel the band back in to more traditional Celtic folk but somehow finds a new refreshing way to summon the Celtic Soul. While listening I thought this would have been a song John Denver would have sold his soul to record. When the tune “Sunne Days” came up, I was already primed to expect the unexpected. But I wasn’t quite prepared for such a radical and delightful switch. “Sunne Days” just flat out gives No Fixed Abode an international appeal with the back street speak- easy, ambience it creates. It certifies that this band has range. This song, much like the earlier tune, “Modern Life” sent me right to a smoky pub in the New Orleans’, French Quarter, sipping on something in a Julep glass and watching a sultry beauty belt out her tune while a single spotlight followed her every move…or maybe it was in Paris? And so it is with the entire album. No Fixed Abode are story tellers, bards in the truest sense. They paint images with music as deftly as Leonardo did with pigment and with equal innovation. “Clearwater” literally possesses something for everyone. With only Tony Dean’s perfectly stated guitar work and Una Walsh’s stunning vocals it would be enough to be called a masterpiece… but there is so much more. Comparing No Fixed Abode to other groups in an effort to give you a sense of what they do would be an injustice. They stand alone at the center of a musical desert of indifference. This CD begs to be in every collection. I give it 10 whole notes. Timothy J. Dowling A K A Hitspinner Artist’s International Independent Radio aiiradio.net Los Angeles Affiliate
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