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David Christian and the Pinecone Orchestra — For Those We Met on the Way
(Tapete TR488, 2021, CD / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2022-02-16

For Those We Met on the Way Cover art

For the past 29 years David Christian has been the singer, mastermind, and fireraiser of the British indie / garage / beat / punk / psych-pop collective Comet Gain. After all these years, he thought “Why not do a solo album?” Following in the footsteps of some of his favorite artists who went solo (John Cale, Gene Clark, Julian Cope, Stephen Duffy, Michael Nesmith, Curtis Mayfield, Neil Young, …), David retired to a new home in the South of France, along with the help of numerous friends on various instruments (The Pinecone Orchestra), to work on his solo folk rock album For Those We Met on the Way. David and the Pinecone Orchestra (James Horsey and Alasdair MacLean (The Clientele), Ben Phillipson (18th Day of May, Trimdon Grange Explosion, Comet Gain), Gerry Love (Teenage Fan Club, Lightships), Anne-Laure Guillain (Comet Gain, Cinema Red and Blue), and Joe-Harvey Whyte (Hanging Stars)) have produced twelve catchy folk-rock pop songs that hearken back to earlier days. As I listened to the album, I kept thinking of Bob Dylan when he went electric, as well as Al Kooper’s outstanding Hammond organ riffing on “Like a Rolling Stone.” Some of the songs are quite minimal, which draws your attention to David’s off-singing, which is more of a nit. “Pay Me Later, Coco + Dee” is a deadpan, almost talking blues, song with a catchy simple riff that develops into quite a strong song. Then there is the angry post-punk rocker “The Ballad for the Button-downs” that has a Lou Reed vibe. Acoustic guitars, pianos, pedal steels, harmonies, wonderful drumming, and tasty back-up singing are peppered through out the album. A nice change-of-pace album.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Comet Gain, David Christian / David Feck

More info
http://comet-gain.bandcamp.com/album/david-christian-and-the-pinecone-orchestra

 

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