I don’t personally know Colyer, but I would like to offer up an apology to him. I never hit publish on the review I wrote for Lonestardom and I am gutted about it. I apologise for not realising my error Colyer.
So this post is a two-fold post – to share Colyer‘s latest video “Weird World” and to finally publish the review of Lonestardom.
First, the very late review of Lonestardom.
Initially, I was going to do a track by track review of Lonestardom but I realised that I couldn’t find the exact words nor the perfect words to capture what the album was giving me and the track by track review seemed to be a disservice to the album as a whole.
Let’s talk about Colyer‘s voice. His voice is dreamy and effortless. Haunting and soulful. Emotional and at times distant like the tail lights of a car disappearing into the dark night. His unique voice is what sets him apart from a lot of artists these days. It’s his and his alone. At times one could hear the influences of Jeff Buckley or Alex Turner, but that’s all they are, influences not carbon copies.
Through Lonestardom, Colyer has captured the essence of “California dreaming”. It is a soundtrack to a 70’s summer daydream with muted colours, hushed tones, and a sense of peace and calm. The title track “Lonestardom” opens this daydream and softly takes your hand before leading you into a world or shall I say, a galaxy all its own.
The lyrics for “10 Galaxies (Between Us)” are absolutely poetic. As a writer, this opening lyric, is gold, “I am your last call drink. Recurring dreams, back to the satellite. I know your x-ray vision must see I have no spine.”
The way “Reset” and “Tired of Blue” flow seamlessly together evoke a marriage made in heaven whether that be the case or not.
The opening of “River of Youth” gives me mega Jeff Buckley influences and is pure poetry in motion and when I hear “Pet Names” I can envision it in a David Lynch dream sequence.
“Weird World” brings the album to a close that’s a mix of a sad goodbye and realising that things ends. It hugs you tightly and then lets you go, perhaps even grow. It’s a beautiful and touching song.
FAVOURITE TRACK: “10 Galaxies (Between Us)”
MUST LISTEN TRACK: “River of Youth”
RATING OUT OF 5 ROCK HANDS: 3 ??? because I find myself mentally straying when “Always” and “Six 23” play.
Watch “Weird World” below
Lonestardom artwork by Nas
