ALBUM REVIEWS

Dawn Landes SWEET HEART RODEO COOKING VINYL 7.9.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk I’ve probably only heard this album subconsciously when the washing up had taken too long and Chris Evans has slipped into Bob Harris Country on Radio 2 (and no, I can’t stand Chris Moyles either!) as Dawn Landes fits the tag of Americana perfectly. Sweet Heart Rodeo is a rather gentle album compared to what I normally listen to but lyrically she is as sharp and objective as any of the more aggressive songs I’ve lost my hearing to over the years. She manages to craft varied storylines into elegant and rather gentile songs, my only other recollection of another artist in the same genre is Suzanne Vega that again that’s only through radio airplay. Some of the more outstanding tracks on the album include ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’, a story of a long distant relation who ran away to the rodeo during the great depression or ‘Brighton’ an ode to a trip to the English seaside. I think this album is best enjoyed lazing on a summer’s afternoon without a care in the world, a good bottle of something strong and where time stands still. Without any real points of reference, I can’t pass any judgement from a personal view on Sweet Heart Rodeo but Dawn Landes talent is without question to have made this old rocker sit up and take note. Simon Mulholland www.dawnlandes.com Email Links & Comments to the editor Check the latest album releases