Neil Young? Is that you? Almost.. but not quite.
Yet, it is remarkably and romantically nearly him! Danny and the Champions of the World have modernised those golden country days, added some beautiful banjo, intricate strings, and such poetic lyrics.
From the opening track ‘Henry the Van’, you are whisked away to your own ultimate road trip, watching the world go by as you are serenaded by uniquely raw voices and beautiful real lyrics.
I can see myself singing ‘Lose These Bags’ in many years to come. It is just too damn catchy. From the first few bars I could hear musical influences of early Bruce Springsteen or Johnny Cash. It seems lyrically this track takes on a whole bunch of motivating and reflective elements; “Nearly lost my faith, nearly lost my pride. Take my hand and hold on tight, gunna lose these these bags and win this fight.”
Each track on this record is just completely different to each other, yet still gels together so well.
As the record continues, so do the amazing sounds. ‘Wandle Swan’, is almost as bluegrass as you can get, and it is just delightful – fast paced, and full of collaborative vocal elements.
‘Yr People Here’, also put a smile on my face, purely due to the almost gospel choir at the end chiming along to the saxophone solo.
Title track, ‘Streets of Time’, is just even better, mesmerising, full of hope and nostalgia, complete with a lovely harmony lathered chorus. This one was a definite album highlight for me.
There is so much good stuff going on in the record it is hard to cover in just a few little paragraphs. Look out for these guys – they’re going places.
Originally published on: thedwarf.com.au