Sometimes you hear a recording that is spot on to how an artist sounds live, and Dave Packham's album has some great examples of this. Having been lucky enough to have Packham attend some of our open mic events in the past, he comes along with his loop pedal and plays in a minimal rhythmic backling, accompanied with hauntingly reverberating lead guitar and soft, smooth vocals. The first couple of songs on this album are very true to his live style, and as the album progresses the sound gets bigger and more diverse - almost how I would curate a set list for a gig, starting with the gentle numbers and building up to a big finale, which happens to be an instrumental piece that's almost anthemic. My personal favourite track is 'One Step Away' which escalates into heavy layered choruses while stripped right back to the minimal guitar of the verses. As you may be aware from my previous reviews, I like a good arrangement and there are several examples of how to create dynamics on this album by working hard to pull it back in places, while going full pelt in others and using clever panning. Packham even goes so far as to add a little distortion to the lead vocal in the heavier moments which intensifies the fullness of the sound. There's no denying that Packham knows how to write a great song and has an affinity between his instrument and vocal. A fantastic debut.
Hear 'One Step Away' and other songs like it on our Certified Bangers Playlist: