Rene West “This Town” (Independent 2007)

Is going like ghost town

Rene would probably be the first to agree that her voice isn’t a thing of great beauty; it is cracked, rough, deep and real - Perfect for moving through these gritty songs at a deliberate pace, chewing over the words, tasting each one before releasing it. The music is similarly thoughtful and honest, a country band set-up. With everything usually moving at a slow pace the mandolin on ‘Pretty’ sounds supercharged against the drawn out bass notes, whilst the voices move around like seniors at a picnic.

The opening line of ‘This Town’ pretty much sums up the ethos of the whole undertaking, ‘Straight from high school to the factory’ - these are blue collar dirty realist songs, Saturdays are for ‘doing nothing’, debt is a way of life, foreclosure an inevitability, menial jobs are a career. Given the bleak subject matter West does a good job of not sentimentalising or glorifying. These are facts of life; no mythology, just reportage. Like James McMurtry the atmosphere is grey, colours washed out - a tough listen, though leavened with tracks like ‘Moon & Stars’ or ‘Snow Falls’ that transcend their trappings.

Date review added:  Thursday, July 19, 2007
Reviewer:  David Cowling
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  The official site