TREVOR ALGUIRE - PERISH IN THE LIGHT
2016 - Self Released
This is the sixth album by highly rated Canadian singer songwriter Trevor Alguire, a man who covers many aspects of roots music with perhaps the strongest influence coming from 'country music,' but certainly not exclusively so. He has an appealing, warm vocal style, with an excellent range and is able to exhibit a variety of emotions with utter conviction as well as being a superb songwriter.
As i've already intimated Trevor is certainly not governed by any generic writing. He seems to write about any subject that takes his fancy and in whatever generic field is most appropriate for the song, from haunting balladry to classic country rock, hillbilly rock, rootsy rock, a little folksiness and probably quite a lot else but it all holds together so well because of that warm, expressive vocal style and by the fact that he never dives too deeply into any genre in particular. 'Rock' is mentioned quite a lot in the above phrases but the rock element is always fairly minimal, allowing the excellent songs to prosper as a result; perhaps it is more the edginess of rock rather than any hard driving attack. Most of the songs edge towards balladry, irrespective of generic leanings but balladry that has a nice variety of textures and arrangements and in fact it could well be those textural changes that define this album. We have all heard albums loaded with ballads that, because of arrangement similarities, just blend together and become easily forgettable but that certainly doesn't apply to any of the ten songs on this album, not that every song is a ballad.
He is helped out on this album by much in demand pedal steel guitarist Bob Egan, whilst Miranda Mulholland plays fiddle throughout and Jesse O’Brien plays organ and piano and there is an absolutely stunning duet with Catherine MacLellan. Jeff Asselin plays drums; Stuart Watkins is on bass, with Chris Gauthier playing lead guitars and Trevor was responsible for all arrangements himself as well as the albums production, ensuring the finished recording was (hopefully)what he had visualized.
Proceedings get underway with a lovely piano sound and melodic guitar that lead in to The ghost of him, an excellent, sad mournful ballad with lovely female harmonies supported by keyboards, bass and percussion and Trevor's hugely evocative vocal. The lovely weeping steel guitar and fiddle get things going on Out of sight, out of mind a lovely slow moody tale that reflects on a lost lover. It is almost classic country but with a modern edge and lovely textural changes that enhance the quality of the song, with Trevor's vocal at its evocative best. The metronomic percussion allows everything else free rein with nice atmospheric piano interventions. There is an intensely dramatic, haunting atmosphere on My sweet Rosetta, with fiddle and unusual, if muted, background effects that gradually introduce the steel guitar and Catherine MacLellans beautiful vocal. It is a gorgeous, emotional duet, with some beautiful female harmonies that help create an even more haunting atmosphere on this tale of longing. Final mention goes to Flash flood with its chunky rootsy guitars, thudding percussion and driving fiddle on an excellent rootsy rocker that has some country elements but more in terms of the fiddle and a hard 'hillbilly rock' feel.
I haven't heard all of Trevor Alguires previous recordings but those I have were excellent and I gave 2012s 'When sorrow begins to call' three and a half stars (back in the days when I used the 'star' system) and to my ears this album is a considerable improvement on that and the one of its predecessors that I've heard. He seems to be moving ahead of many of his peers and at this rate it won't be long before he has very few, if any!
http://trevoralguire.com/
This is the sixth album by highly rated Canadian singer songwriter Trevor Alguire, a man who covers many aspects of roots music with perhaps the strongest influence coming from 'country music,' but certainly not exclusively so. He has an appealing, warm vocal style, with an excellent range and is able to exhibit a variety of emotions with utter conviction as well as being a superb songwriter.
As i've already intimated Trevor is certainly not governed by any generic writing. He seems to write about any subject that takes his fancy and in whatever generic field is most appropriate for the song, from haunting balladry to classic country rock, hillbilly rock, rootsy rock, a little folksiness and probably quite a lot else but it all holds together so well because of that warm, expressive vocal style and by the fact that he never dives too deeply into any genre in particular. 'Rock' is mentioned quite a lot in the above phrases but the rock element is always fairly minimal, allowing the excellent songs to prosper as a result; perhaps it is more the edginess of rock rather than any hard driving attack. Most of the songs edge towards balladry, irrespective of generic leanings but balladry that has a nice variety of textures and arrangements and in fact it could well be those textural changes that define this album. We have all heard albums loaded with ballads that, because of arrangement similarities, just blend together and become easily forgettable but that certainly doesn't apply to any of the ten songs on this album, not that every song is a ballad.
He is helped out on this album by much in demand pedal steel guitarist Bob Egan, whilst Miranda Mulholland plays fiddle throughout and Jesse O’Brien plays organ and piano and there is an absolutely stunning duet with Catherine MacLellan. Jeff Asselin plays drums; Stuart Watkins is on bass, with Chris Gauthier playing lead guitars and Trevor was responsible for all arrangements himself as well as the albums production, ensuring the finished recording was (hopefully)what he had visualized.
Proceedings get underway with a lovely piano sound and melodic guitar that lead in to The ghost of him, an excellent, sad mournful ballad with lovely female harmonies supported by keyboards, bass and percussion and Trevor's hugely evocative vocal. The lovely weeping steel guitar and fiddle get things going on Out of sight, out of mind a lovely slow moody tale that reflects on a lost lover. It is almost classic country but with a modern edge and lovely textural changes that enhance the quality of the song, with Trevor's vocal at its evocative best. The metronomic percussion allows everything else free rein with nice atmospheric piano interventions. There is an intensely dramatic, haunting atmosphere on My sweet Rosetta, with fiddle and unusual, if muted, background effects that gradually introduce the steel guitar and Catherine MacLellans beautiful vocal. It is a gorgeous, emotional duet, with some beautiful female harmonies that help create an even more haunting atmosphere on this tale of longing. Final mention goes to Flash flood with its chunky rootsy guitars, thudding percussion and driving fiddle on an excellent rootsy rocker that has some country elements but more in terms of the fiddle and a hard 'hillbilly rock' feel.
I haven't heard all of Trevor Alguires previous recordings but those I have were excellent and I gave 2012s 'When sorrow begins to call' three and a half stars (back in the days when I used the 'star' system) and to my ears this album is a considerable improvement on that and the one of its predecessors that I've heard. He seems to be moving ahead of many of his peers and at this rate it won't be long before he has very few, if any!
http://trevoralguire.com/