Album: Cut From Clouds
Posted on December 9th, 2011 by Scott
UK Release Date: OUT NOW
Label: Independent
There’s always something comforting and familiar about a good country or Americana track even if you haven’t heard it before. The simplicity of the open chord change, the conversational narrative, and that age old tale of riding into town, having a heart break, looking for the Lord or a loose woman and riding on back out. These are the things that make for great country standards and things which Ryan Sterling’s ‘Cut From Clouds’ record has in abundance.
Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Sterling is quick to play down his connections to folk as it can have “bad connotations”. He’s right of course, even here on Folk and Tumble we admit that there are only two types of music; good and bad!
‘Cut From Clouds’ meanders a dangerous path between the two. Ryan Sterling may not always hit the notes perfectly but that’s never been an issue for Cash, Dylan or latterly Connor Oberst but these are artists with a catalogue of powerful tunes to distract from what can sometimes be a wavering vocal performance. There are several stand out tracks on this record which show real potential including the opener ‘Wound Up Here’, sounding like a casual canter into town on a trusty steed. It bounces along like an old country favourite in the same vein as ‘Been and Done’. ‘Wild Wind’ breezes in with some Bon Iver-esque harmonies which offer a plesant change to the more country feel of the preceeding tracks.
At times the record can feel a little too Americana-by-numbers but there are certainly tracks on there worth a repeat listen with some solid work on harmonica and beautiful finger-picking skills shown off in the last four tracks which seem to have been tacked on as a little after thought. Perhaps mixing these tracks throughout the album would keep the interest piqued however I was suitably hooked enough by this record to go and check out some of Sterling’s other stuff which was much more my cup of tea… Have a listen to both and let us know what you decide…