Blood, Bones And Soul

This is the second album from the ex-pat Australian now domiciled in Dublin. It’s an impressive outing too, not just for the quality of Faithfield’s folk-rock songs but the production from M/s Shanley and Byrne at Cauldron Studios is spot on. Between them they have created an album that, while remaining true to Faithfield’s singer-songwriter roots, has a classy quality running through it.

The first track ‘Shed My Skin’ owes a lot to Al Stewart, but it’s followed by the more urgent ‘Rise Above’ with its appropriately soaring chorus. But Faithfield really turns the temperature up with the magnificently relentless ‘Endless’. ‘Burn’ has a Sting meets U2 quality to it, while the fidgety ‘Listen’ is infectious for both ears and feet.

Sadly the lame title track is delivered like an underwraught Neil Diamond, and claims that it’s “gospel imbued’ are hysterically inaccurate. A similar claim that ‘A Whisper Away’ is “a Dylan flavoured proclamation” is equally idiotic.

But Faithfield has an endearing vocal style and an intelligent approach to his lyrics. For much of Blood, Bones And Soul (the album, not the track) he employs a mainstream rock band approach, adding little to the main ensemble playing and relying on the strength of the songs to carry it off. Most of the time it works admirably, but a little more looking towards the future and less retro-gazing might have turned a fine album into a great one.