Bristol-based, Phil King already has two well-received albums to his name with They Come and They Go and Leaves, and The Wreckage should expand his profile considerably. Acoustic-based, but as likely to kick up a raucous noise as a hushed stillness, recorded live at Real World studios, it filters such influences as Dylan, Young, Drake, Welch and Oberst through an individual lens and instrumentation that includes harmonium, pedal steel and accordion.
A lengthy acoustic guitar intro preludes five minute opening number Sicily, eventually revealing a soft vocal reminiscent of Don McLean (an influence that can also be heard in the music) while the rockier, rhythm scurrying second track, Do Not Surrender, has a nasal edge that also slightly put me in mind of the young Harvey Andrews.
King certainly has an ear for melody, particularly evident both there and on the tumbling chords of It Takes More and the steel-accompanied balladry of the title track.
There’s an easy lazing feel to the melancholic slow swaying and soaring vocals of I Wonder If I Will Ever Learn, contrasting neatly with the subsequent snares and keyboards driven urgency of a Dylanesque Stronger and the slow waltzing reflectiveness that enrobes the eight minute Poison Blue.
The album ends with the intimate notes and Ruth Hammond’s backing harmonies of the bittersweet You Know Where To Find Me, and you should most certainly be out there looking.
The Wreckage is Out Now
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Phil King Tour Dates
Thur 21st April – The Prince Albert, Stroud
Sat 23rd April – Saunton Rd Studios, Braunton
Wed 27th April – The Cheese and Grain, Frome
Fri 29th April – Loves Cafe, Weston Super Mare
Sat 30th April – Salisbury Arts Centre
Thurs 5th May – The Donkey, Leicester
Fri 6th May – The Maltings, St Albans
Sat 7th May – Bocabar, Glastonbury
Tue 10th May – Acoustic Sessions, Malmesbury
Thurs 12th May – ORT Cafe, Birmingham
Sat 14th May – Dartmouth Festival
Fri 20th May – Au Chat Noir, Paris
Thurs 16th June – Burnham-On-Sea Folk Club
Fri 17th June – The Farnham Maltings
Fri 24th June – Schtumm, Box, Wiltshire
Thurs 30th June – Chapel Arts Centre, Bath