John Henry Lambert - Gone Away Album Review

John Henry Lambert
Gone Away
John Lambert Recordings
Album Review

John Henry Lambert is a singer songwriters based in Devon, Gone Away is his debut record and it proves Lambert to be a very mature writer. The whole album floats along with the aid of no percussion, just the odd track featuring harmonium, piano, saxophone and violins, it makes for an incredibly organic sounding album.

John Henry Lambert's voice could be compared to that of Chris Rea or Leonard Cohen, the poem based lyrics are projected with a smoky mahogany burnish, the lyrics are mainly spoken word - sometimes drifting into a narration - they communicate across to the listener a real feeling , as much as the form a normal song structure.

When you listen to Gone Away, you can really feel the setting in which it was recorded, a windswept Dartmoor farm, brimming with tranquillity, warm log fires and lots of autumn leaves. Lambert lists Springsteen's The Ghost of Tom Joad as an influence, and it's visible - its capability to communicate a solid power to a story by undertelling it and underplaying the instruments.

This debut is as atmospheric an album as you'll hear in a long time.

Rating 8/10

Mike Rea