Album Review: Tom Baxter, The Other Side Of Blue

Tom Baxter returns after a barren decade musically, a divorce and a new marriage - with an album that documents it all. The 12-track LP is folkier than previous releases, but if you're waiting for Mumford and Sons-type strumming to air-guitar to, don't hold your breath.

The entire album - recorded with just guitars, piano and vocals - is stripped of what Baxter refers to as “production camouflage”. This is a cool concept, but here the execution leaves a lot of the songs sounding the same. For the most part, the album is so nakedly bare you wish it at least left its underwear on.

Piano-based tracks are tactfully separated by guitar-based ones (and vice versa), otherwise they'd bleed into each other. Despite gorgeous guitar illustrations, on many tracks you’re left waiting for…something, that never quite comes (‘In Your Hands,’ ‘Heroes & Monsters’ and ‘For Crying Out Loud’ are examples). Still, on the likes of ‘Cold’, a climax does arrive - in the form of Baxter’s fine vocals rather than instrumentally.

‘The Ballad of Davey Graham’ - a tribute to the legendary folk guitarist - and ‘Lover’ are the album’s saving graces, making effective use of the stripped back format and showcasing Baxter’s voice. These and ‘Where The Wild River Runs,’ a strange but engaging listen that is more spoken than sung, are by far the most distinct and memorable tracks.

It's not that the album isn't interesting and listenable - it is. The Other Side Of Blue would make good coffee shop soundtrack material. At home, it's an album to wind down to.

Rating 6/10