Archive for August, 2010

Doricana Review On Northern Sky (UK)

Friday, August 13th, 2010

The following review was taken from Northern Sky.

“Scottish-born singer-songwriter Colin Clyne returns with his second album, the follow up to his 2006 debut Songs from the Cold Store, intent on creating a new genre. If the album’s title attempts to describe a certain marriage between an ancient Scottish language and the more recent collective term for American roots music, then the songs presented here bridge the Atlantic suitably well. Colin Clyne’s prolific output has been narrowed down to thirteen songs, each produced and arranged with a crisp acoustic sound and clear vocal delivery; no need to consult the lyric sheet here.

Originally from the small coastal town of Stonehaven, just south of Aberdeen, Clyne has traded the bitter North Sea for the much more conducive North Pacific Ocean, setting up home in San Diego on the West Coast of California. The songs chosen for this album lend themselves to this particular area of America, each one injected with warmth and accessibility, yet losing none of the inherent Celtic heart. Melodic in structure, the songs in the main are possessed of a memorable hook, which I would imagine should make for radio-friendly consideration.

Heartbreak and homesickness are just two themes running through the core of Doricana with Good for Something, Dance With Her, Hey I Miss You Too and In My Garden as good examples. The Pain of the Mississippi Queen in particular tells of a yearning for home, away from the superficiality of Hollywood and a longing to return to the land where the ‘deep fried Mars Bar’ was born. A nice image right there.

With a supporting cast of fine musicians including James Hood on guitar and bass, Larry Grano on drums, Rick Nash on bass and Enrique Platas on percussion, together with a bunch of guest musicians helping out on accordion, fiddle, banjo, keyboards and a variety of other instruments, the overall sound maintains a consistency throughout the thirteen titles, each song a snapshot of archetypal ‘Doricana’.

Allan Wilkinson
Northern Sky”

Click here to view the original review on Allan’s website.