Monday, February 08, 2010

Larry Ludwick - Some Days

Hear The Track Here

Having escaped from the clutches of the many tentacled being we know as Jon Bushaway - as we saw from the last thrilling episode - who had mind melded with puny Earthling (and musician) Larry Ludwick in order to force him to sing for his supper before something ominous called The Dead Company, Larry found time in his crowded social calender to make a track (gasp) on his OWN!. Yep, get out the smelling salts and revive the ladies, the man is back in action and the pussy cat meeeowed. (Ed: Gilmore, maybe you should lie down for a minute...) Sorry, letting my exuberance get the better of me, but hey a NEW Larry Ludwick track is always a treat and this is so new it's still steaming. For those not familiar with the Double L, he is an American musician musician/songwriter who can often be found wandering into genres at will.

I've heard this guy do all kinds of music, including the alien symphonies from The Dead Company, and I know which I like best. As much as I like it when he does collabs, or his more electronic side, I do like the songwriter in him. As you can guess then, Some Days is essentially that, a good song. However, because I've known Larry a while and become accustomed to his very distinctive style, there are all sorts of pleasures to be had from it; not the least of it being Larry's excellent vocal. As is customary with this musician, this is not a light, throwaway track. As always there is a dark tinge to all his work and Some Days goes along with that to some extent, what makes it a tad more accessible for Mr & Ms Public however is it's nod in the direction of an elderly Canadian.

Back in the day, I hated Leonard Cohen with a passion in public but listened guiltily in secret marvelling at how such a dead person sound could so stir my soul. There is a lot of that same influence in this track and - it has to be said - Larry is a considerably lighter vocal presence (for all his lyrical darkness). Ultimately, it was that spirit that won me over with this track, that and the extremely deft way Larry has of getting his point across. Looking back from Nod's Ascent To Dave (June 2008), my first ever Larry Ludwick review, to now, it's obvious that Larry has gained confidence in his abilities and has become a stronger performer because of that and Some Days shows that more than anything else. He may well be an acquired taste - like a lot of Soundclick's better musicians - but he's certainly cutting out his own little Larry shaped niche.

Highly Recommended moody Alternative.

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