Bitchin’ Music Group [Release date 06.01.23]

Everything about L.A. (aka Luke Andrew) Edwards from his initials and his West Coast tinged Americana, to his use of jangly pop and the fact his PR references the cultural sway of Laurel Canyon, suggests a style of music honed in the 70’s and commercialised in the 80’s.

And just in case you didn’t join the dots immediately, there’s his aching vocal style which recalls Jackson Browne.

‘Out Of The Heart Of Darkness’ explores an ever evolving musical arc which has endured long enough to remain a significant catalyst for the kind of contemporary singer- songwriter template which L.A. Edwards wishes to be part of.

The major difference between his own songcraft and that of his musical ancestors is that his songs are ultimately more defined by a significant production rather than placing the focus wholly on his vocals.

Where Jackson Browne or James Taylor for example, were anchored by lyrical substance suffused with enough emotional honesty to inhabit a fully realised confessional style, here the emphasis is on a more sonic driven aesthetic.

Edwards does parallel Browne in the use of repetitive melodies, but the lyrics are either too general, or sometimes lacking enough emotional pull to fully engage us.

The music too is often closer to 80’s jangly pop, meaning it doesn’t quite have the immediacy of contemporaries like Dawes, while his production searches for a unity of sound in which to cushion his voice, rather than emphasize it.

The end result is an album that relies on atmospheric changes of mood and dynamics, which ultimately contribute as much to the album as the songs themselves.

That’s not so say L.A. Edwards doesn’t work hard on his songcraft. Together with his brothers Jesse Daniel and Jerry, he explores some hook driven jangly pop with a layered sound, as evidenced by ‘Little Boy Blue’, albeit complete with a retro sounding power chord intro.

Perhaps he shows us his cards too soon, as on the outstanding “Now You Know” – arguably the best song on the album – which is everything the rest of the album tries hard to emulate in terms of feel, balance and a resolving aching vocal.

He’s sounds almost New Wave on the jaunty ‘Let It Out’, on which he adds some poetic lyrics to a musical sense of urgency; “I’m gonna cast a long black shadow, Over you and all White Chapel, Long red hair and a silver dagger, Nobody’s gonna hear you shatter.”

Then there’s the real emotive restraint of ‘Surrender’, on which his heartfelt lyrics do strike a chord: “I wanna be your shadow, I wanna hold you close, (‘Til I get old), I wanna die beside you, And that’s all that I want.”

However, what this track and the album generally lacks, is the significant shift from his understated phrasing to the opposite, as he too often relies on an overbearing musical accompaniment.

On the mid-tempo Rickenbacker sounding ‘Hi Rite Now!” the subtly layered uplifting sweep of the hook acts as a counterweight to L.A.’s limited range.

In sharp contrast, the band rocks out on the intro to the keyboard driven ‘Time To Go’, as his brothers provide the meat on the bone of the hook.

He bravely opens the lead single ‘Already Gone’ with a church organ, before slipping into an almost celebratory lilt, which is almost out of step with some claustrophobic lyrics, big on feel but less so on clarity.

“East LA in an endless summer, It’s too hot, I just can’t sleep at all, With your hands wrapped around my neck, Could you let me breathe, please?”

His warm timbre here is closer to REM’s Michael Stipe, on a track that relies heavily on a mid-number wall of sound and a stop-time dynamic that refocuses the listener on his vocal and leads into the final hook.

The riff driven opening to ‘Peace Be With You’, recalls early Elvis Costello, before again settling into a mid-tempo mood in which he fills a yearning love song with an aching voice and jangly accompaniment, as he makes his pitch: “If you’re movin’ on, Stay a little longer. Can I hold you close? Can I make you stronger? Take the road that takes you back home.”

The closing ‘Lucky One’, builds impressively on another layered track to restate the Jackson Browne influence, with a subtle mesmerising drop-down with eerie bv’s and a perfunctory military drum outro.

The album title ‘Out Of The Heart Of Darkness’ provides a optimistic conceptual frame work for a set of reflective songs, realised by a drum-tight road band whose edgy bluster infuses L.A.’s song craft with energy, focus and organic arrangements.

This album might not be quite what you imagined it be, but it’s still a significant stepping stone to a promising future. ***½

Review by Pete Feenstra

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