Classic alt.country confessional songwriting with a downbeat ambient, acoustic sentiment.

11 MP3 Songs in this album (45:30) !
Related styles: COUNTRY: Modern Country, FOLK: Modern Folk

People who are interested in Whiskeytown Ryan Adams Tim Easton should consider this download.


Details:
With a touch of Gram Parsons in his overall sound, just a smidgen of Joni Mitchell in his narratives and a pile of Ryan Adams in the fullness of his writing style, Warren Gaskell steps forward impressively with A PAIR OF HORSES his solo debut.

By turns melodical, wistful, raspy and simply sweet, he makes the most of a decent set of acoustic musicians, including Mark Astles, Stephen Braithwaite and Mike Nuttall. This collection of musicians blended with Warrrens writing and performances make A PAIR OF HORSES a sensitive, emotional and insightful collection of songs. There is a definite âunder cookedâ quality to this material, a sense of layering that is both sparing and subtle.

Warrens songs have been described in the UK as âclassic confessional songwriting with a downbeat ambient sentimentâ. And A PAIR OF HORSES is certainly all that with a few little extra surprises sprinkled on top for good measure. The album is littered with melodies that slowly become close friends and stay with you, while the narrative provides a strong sense of loss, love, hurt and survival.

Warren is apt to be as influenced by Nick Drake and Ryan Adams as by Johnny Cash and Neil Young. He performs vocal duties, writing, instrumentation and production for this debut solo album.

Itâs primarily a singer/songwriter affair, with lots of acoustic guitars, gentle drums, subtle keyboards, and tender harmony vocals, but thereâs also a lot of variety and kick. âBroken Kissâ runs out of the gate like a rollicking out-take from Dylanâs Highway 61 sessions, whereas the gentle, shimmering, âCome in from the coldâ recalls Joniâs âBlueâ album. And there is even a hazy echo of his home town band Oasis on the closing chapter of "You're making me pay". While tunes like âClose to youâ and "A pair of horses" have a bare-bones, dusty, story-telling quality that recalls Adams, Joni Mitchel and Tim Easton.