This six track E.P. is the first solo release from SIMON STANLEY WARD, formerly the lead singer with Black Bart, the alternative country band whose last album I reviewed for W & H. Black Bart has now ended, so the 24year old Londoner is back with his first E.P. of Americana and country influenced songs. Is it good? You bet!
Opening with ‘American Voice’, a straightforward country & western tune that works really well, especially when you realise that the lyrics are cleverly self deprecating: - “I have no credentials, I’m not the real thing/ I just dress like a cowboy, when I sing.” There is a real humour here and Simon is not above taking the odd pot shot or two at himself, for coming from Highbury and singing country songs: -
“I can’t walk away, I have no choice. I’m just tied to the sound of my American voice/ I’m a fake, I’m a phoney. I’m a one-trick pony.”
Following on from this with ‘Stand In The Rain’, Simon proves that he is anything but a one-trick pony. This is a harder edged, darker son, which was reminiscent of the sort of country blues that The Gun Club did so well circa ‘Miami’. The lyrics again are strong: - “Put your hand in the fire, and you’ll feel the pain/ I’ll go into the night and stand in the rain.”
‘Behind Closed Doors’, is a change of pace a mellow country love song that’s quite touching in places, as Simon confronts fears of ageing: - “For I checked to see if my hair is turning grey.” After this, there is the wonderful ‘The Monster Song’, a slice of country pop, which seems to reference nightmares and is a bit of an insomniac song: - “This boat is sinking, and the lifeboats are full/ There’s a rumour going round there’s no lifeboats at all/ Yes I’ve been here before.”
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‘Homesick’ is the rockabilly-ish number on the E.P. and is one of those songs that follows in the tradition of Elvis’ ‘Trying To Get To You’, all about wanting to be with your other half but being far away: - “Well I’ve just come away from a sunrise, I could leave for tomorrow right now/ There’ll be someone waiting for me, if I could only make it somehow.”
Finally, the EP closes with ‘The Seven O’Clock Alarm’ a slower paced song that talks about the drudgery of life and being tied to the alarm clock to get to work: - “The seven o’clock alarm, I hear it every day/ Every muscle in my body, it’s sound it obeys.” This is a song that almost anyone can relate to, when the dreaded alarm “awakens all my senses, awakens all my fears”. I certainly struck a chord with me, especially when Simon sings: - “Six fifty five, my eyes are open but I don’t feel alive.”
Overall, I thought this was a great EP, and if the next album is half as good as this, it’ll be well worth getting.
Simon Stanley Ward Facebook page
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