Lucas Paine
Black Ram
Independent
With his fifth
release, Melbourne-by-way-of-Virginia artist Lucas Paine has stripped it back.
Way back. In an effort to channel the simplicity of early folk music, Black Ram bears only Paine’s banjo and
guitar, his voice, minimal accompaniment – a far cry from his last cut, which
while sparse and spacious, swelled with a warm fullness.
Not to say these
songs aren’t effective. While a couple are let down by Paine’s voice, which
doesn’t seem as solid as it’s been previously, they’re strong in their
simplicity, their basic form keeping true to their inspiration, coming together
to create what is a mournful paean to life lived and lost, what true folk music
is all about. There’s more than a nod to country music inherent to Paine’s
music as well, his upbringing in wide-open, ‘big sky’ parts of the US obvious
in the odd twang here and there, the way he phrases his music.
Where Paine shines
though is in his songwriting. Not going for overtly vivid imagery, his strength
lies in the simple and true; you feel the honesty seeping from songs like
‘Black Ram Shuffle’ and ‘Wings Of Rusty Knives’. He cuts to the quick, the
results taking you back in time.
Samuel J. Fell
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