Singer-songwriters are rather abundant these days, as I suppose they always have been. Within this narrow genre, though, there is currently a dramatic discrepancy in talent – for every Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy or Bright Eyes, there are James Blunt and James Morrison ploughing the MOR furrow. However, now and then there is still the odd songsmith who slips through the major label net and blesses us with a collection of songs worthy of some of the greats.
Step forward Yoriyos, whose debut album Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, released on his own label, has the promise of being just such a collection. Clearly influenced by some of the finer songwriters of the 60s and beyond, Yoriyos songs are a mix of storytelling and philosophising backed by acoustic guitar and a variety of instruments (from accordion on ‘Endoscopises’ to the fitting South American panpipes of Querido Che). Leonard Cohen’s ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ is referenced in the poignant ‘Run Dry’, while ‘Hurricane John’ sounds like Cat Stevens. You could point to a whole lot more influences (Dylan, Neil Young etc) but Yoriyos certainly has his own voice.
The title of the album evokes the snowy massacre representative of the wrongs done against Native American Indians by white settlers and throughout the album there are references to revolutionary or political themes, at times reminiscent of the original protest singers. Yoriyos is better at the storytelling than he is the protesting though. The poetic hymn from Alberto Granado to a young Che Guevara – ‘Querido Che’ – is more successful than the “start another revolution, stand up for your own rights…this time we’re going to fight for love” of anti-war ‘Another Revolution’ for example.
As well as political protest, these are also songs that argue for art over office, creativity over capitalism – summed up in ‘If All Else Fails’: “If all else fails I could buy a suit, and look just like one of you…I won’t need all my dreams, I won’t be free”. There is a lot of ‘Everyman’ sentiment on this album, with several songs playing with universal themes. Opener ‘Endoscopises’ speaks of the “journey of life”, Nomad’s Dream asks “What is the meaning? Where do I turn? When will I get there? When Will I learn” and ‘The Pied Piper’ wants to know “Who will stand with me when I find wrong and right?” However, whether he is talking about universal ‘truths’, politics or lost love, Yoriyos tends to do so with a lyrical quality that penetrates deeper than the theme.
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee is a collection of well-crafted, at times beautiful songs sung in a voice that works equally well on both the more melodic numbers and the deeper notes of the Cohen-esque ‘The End’. There are standout moments and barely a weak link throughout this extremely promising debut - one can only hope that he never puts on that suit.
No comments:
Post a Comment