James Crosbie Hancox - Home and Dry

Hear The Track Here

It's an indication of how HUGE Soundclick's artist roster is when you encounter people who have been on Soundclick for years and yet you've just met them. Here am I thinking that James is a new name but once I do a little digging find that he's been on the site since 2005. I first started reviewing on Soundclick's forums in early 2003, and have encountered this time and again, maybe because it does seem to take people a long time to discover the joys (or otherwise) of Soundclick's forums. I know it's a piss poor excuse for missing an artist but even I struggle to hear as much as I hear, there is just too much music out there.

Not that I'm complaining, mind.

James Hancox has been writing songs and performing music for around 20 years, and is a native of England's most famous musical city; Liverpool. Given those two facts, I went into the review process expecting much and I wasn't altogether disappointed at the end of it but did feel that certain elements could have been made more of. As many of you know, I love a good song and good songwriters are thin on the ground, especially those with a pop rock slant. Plenty of whingers, whiners and woe-is-me types mind. Fekkin drowning in those guys (and they ARE usually guys). James then brings a welcome refreshing burst of feel good pop all about home being the place to be. Couldn't agree more.

The only criticism I have, and it isn't really a criticism at all, merely an observation. As clean and polished as this track was, as I listened I still felt something missing. Certainly it isn't in the performance or the songs arrangement; both are top rate. The production felt, to my ears anyway, restrained, as if it were trying not to let the track get away. Not tentative exactly but a feeling that the sound is somehow underpowered. I know this sounds ridiculous if you were listening to it, all you would say is that it sounded great - as indeed it does. But that sound lacks any real power, and that's a shame because it would IMHO have been the final touch. Nonetheless, this is very, very classy track indeed and while I want to state my opinion it shouldn't detract from this being an excellent song, beautifully put together and exactly what the pop rock world needs....

Highly Recommended quality pop rock