This is the second album Davey Woodward And The Winter Orphans have put out, Davey used to be in the Brilliant Corners the first time I would have seen him live back in 1986 or so, as well as also being in The Experimental Pop Band and Karen. This album was recorded live in the studio during the summer of 2019 that makes so e of the lyrical content quite prescient.
The album opens with the latest song to be called Bad Day this one is an angsty indie god jangling his pain away rasping the words at us as the drums bang their heads against the wall.
Hard opens with the sort of argument that involves you getting your morning coffee shoved in your face, yes he has regrets and wants to apologize or does he want you to apologize, he'll reference all the things you've sad and done, but no matter how Hard it is living with you, he'll keep coming back for more and if the Jewish girl he sings about is anything like the last one I went out with I feel his pain. A sparse baring of the soul song.
Harmonicas battle it out at the opening of Aliens that reminds me a bit of very early Squeeze, or at least Chris Difford's vocal delivery, as he rails about being an outsider whose existence is denied by our government, that could easily be the perfect song for the current predicament most live musicians find themselves in that eventually leads to a brilliant trumpet solo.
Warm Hands is a song of rejection or the questioning of the next warm embrace as he pleads with you to take your Warm Hands off his face over a storming garage rock backing.
Northern Slopes is about romping in the hills and trying to make sure you don't get stung too often over gentle jangle pop.
Brothers And Sisters is memories of a union or meetings or two and the goings on and happenings those meetings led too with an urgent agit indie sound.
Occupy This Space is slowly questioning and building song of love and want and the intoxicating trumpet making you feel fine we hope as you hopefully still connect while your in the same room with each other or has this relationship already dissolved.
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The Mall sounds like he's fed up as she can't recommend any new authors to read or music to hear, which if that's all he's got to bitch and moan about then life must be pretty ok. But then we can all be optimistic that he'll find that way to survive and find some new music to listen too.
Love & Optimism is about finding a way to carry on as the rest of the world falls apart as America descends into civil war, or is it a war of the races and there's a pandemic going on, or there may as well be, then you'd better make sure your love for each other is enough, with some very cool spectral guitar this has the trumpet underneath almost like Don Cherry playing with Lou Reed on The Bells so this might sound better on headphones.
While Soldiers Sleep is slow late-night careful look at what you might get up to in the dead of the night tale and how it affects you and those around you.
The album closes with Clara's Ghost a prescient song as it deals with some of the issues that have blown up in Bristol this year as they wish a fond farewell to Clara with the drummer beating a retreat for her memory and the memory of all the other slaves traded in Davey's home town of Bristol, as they walk among the graves and mourn for the lives of abuse they led.
Find out more at https://daveywoodward.bandcamp.com/album/love-and-optimism https://www.facebook.com/daveysongs/
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