First Listen: Bill Pritchard - Midland Lullabies

I pre-ordered this record from Forced Exposure and have already received it even though the official release date is 3/8/2019 (according to Tapete Records though Forced Exposure lists it as 3/15 - I'm going with the labels information).

I don't often order things without having heard any of the record, but I have or have heard enough from Bill Pritchard that I didn't feel it was a gamble.  I am currently hearing the third track and feel I made an excellent choice!



Tracklist
Side 1
1 Iolanda 2:58
     A nice piano ballad which he croons nicely.

2 Lullaby 2:59
     Torchlight ballads / piano bar seems to be our focus here.  Very fetching.

3 The Last Temptation Of Brussels 2:30
     This track rocks and exemplifies what I have always loved most about Bill Pritchard - he knows how to make a song really grip you.  He uses his lower vocal register and growls some parts.  Reminds me of Tommy and Co.

4 Thanks 2:42
     Sweet and lovely in  the lullaby theme.

5 Tricksey 2:57
     Playful and coy with a punchy piano driven march.

6 Lanterns 3:12
      He can be playful and witty, or like he is here, sincere and honest. 

7 Piano Sunstrokes Interlude 0:45

[evidently this video was posted to youtube 2 weeks ago, somehow I missed it but now you can hear something from the album before you go order it *LOL*)

Side 2
1 Garibaldi 3:07
     Such a voice!  I want him to be singing to me.  I don't know who Garibaldi is but I'm jealous.

2 Grow 2:31
     Sounds like a song to a child or young person or maybe a younger self. 

3 Tuesday Morning 3:21
     Back to a nice soft rock beat.  Catchy toe-tapper that might seem out of place in this collection of piano based simpler songs but somehow it just works.

4 Mother Town 2:14
     Back to just piano and voice.  A lovely song.

5 Forever 2:56
     I can be slow sometimes but I realized these more upbeat pop/rock songs have....drums.  Doh.  Another nice mid-tempo soft rock tune. It is about a town called Forever which seems to have some unusual but desirable qualities.

6 Sunstrokes Outro

In summary I must say this is really a nice collection of songs with a stylistic theme of balladeering.  Bill always seems well connected to the places and people he lives near.  His songs seem spawned from experiences with both individuals and communities.  He has a wonderful sense of the land and how the history and current political climates effect the people.  I feel those closest to him (geographically) will always get the most from his records while the rest of us have to fill in the gaps of our knowledge with some references that make the songs a bit different than they were intended I am guessing.
The piano making the main instrumental contribution is a big departure from his usual guitar and/or band backed records.  I like it.  I'm glad he had a few more familiar style songs as well - it made me feel more connected with the record and more accepting of the different direction and feel of the majority of the songs.  Bill knows how to write a song and how to put an album together - no further proof is needed than this record - though the strength of his catalog is also there if you need more evidence.

I also bought Bill Pritchard's "A Trip To The Coast" on vinyl while placing this order since I didn't have it except in digital format.  Listening to "Truly Blue" one of my favorite songs on it I realized it is piano and strings making a nice bridge to this record.  One thing about listening to any Bill Pritchard album - while you are listening it feels like his best record yet...until you decide to play another one, then it suddenly seems like the best one.  They are all pretty amazing in their own right. 

If anyone in Bill's camp reads this along with the next record try getting around to some reissues for "Happiness and Other Crimes"  & "By Paris, By Accident, By Taxi" on vinyl since they were ever only on CD. 

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