‘Chasing Sunsets’ is a lyrically strong and musical versatile album rooted in the folk, singer songwriter and storytelling tradition.

Significantly subtitled; ‘ Songs of love, life…and the sun’, the 11 tracks gather a momentum through M.D. Mike King’s inventive arrangements which pushes Maggie and her excellent band into the broader fields of rock, jazz, blues, funk and even Americana.

Sometimes Maggie’s phrasing isn’t quite as expansive as her songs, but she counters this with the integrity of her lyrics and the depth of the crossover arrangements.

For example, her perceptive lyrics on the opening ‘This Is Where I Belong” carry enough weight to give the opening inspirational blues song gravitas: “I was running away from fear and pain, my heart was bruised and battered, I was running away from fear and pain, To find love that mattered, I came here to follow a dream, this is where I belong.”

A refreshingly sympathetic take on immigration, it’s propelled by a jazzy piano and intense guitar break which gives the song extra purchase.

Her songs frequently resonate because of the universality of some of her lyrical themes.

She’s a thoughtful songwriter as on ‘The Script’, a very original song about stepping outside your comfort zone. It benefits from an organ and guitar-led opening to some restless lyrics: “I moved the words around the page, scare to make the mistake; I moved the words so that I could find a route I could take.”

She then move on to: “The words kept on changing through the day and night, The words kept on unravelling as I helplessly held on tight.”

And there’s more: “Now I can see what life can be when I completely free,

Now a different kind of life to which I found the key.”

And if the title track is interpreted as a relationship song embracing optimism and the here and now, she finds “calm serenity” through well crafted lyrics and a late night jazzy feel, courtesy of Mirco Altenbach’s grainy toned sax playing.

‘Chasing Sunsets’ is an album that gains its flow and sense of direction through musical variety and experimentation, as evidenced by the spoken word intro to the socially conscious and spiritually uplifting ‘Where Do We Go From Here’; “How do you solve the question of where do we go to next, on this journey of revelation, not knowing what to expect?”

A mesmerising opening piano line leads to a spoken word verse on a beautifully crafted song with a full band accompaniment and a universal lyrical theme.

The fact that it’s also her best vocal so far, is a function of the veracity of her lyrical message.

There’s an uplifting bridge with a softly voiced bass on a cool breakdown leading back to the piano riff and a final spoken word verse. It’s finally eclipsed by a gentle piano-led outro on an excellent song.

By contrast, the swinging piano boogie of ‘9.44’ evokes a commuter train journey into the metropolis, with lyrics that draw us into a daily journey which continues to fascinate.

This is an album that builds by degrees from the Americana influenced ‘Feel The Love’ onwards.

A melange of aching pedal steel, whispered vocals, intricately threaded piano and fine band interplay leads to a startlingly good choral vocals and a belated double line outro.

The undulating funky groove of ‘You Help Bring Out The Sun’ is also a joy.

Anchored by Roger Inniss’s lilting bass line, Mike King adds organ stabs and a synth solo, alongside Damien Nolan’s buzz tone guitar.

The words and the music coalesce perfectly on an uplifting arrangement which again evokes the lyrical message.

Maggie attacks the song with gusto, leading to a harmony vocal finish on a song that should have been a single.

There are more musical twists and turns as on the sultry ‘Here At Last’, an exquisite love song it’s fleshed out by sax, piano and deft brush strokes.

The excellent ‘Step Out Of Time’ features Inniss’s yearning bass on a 60’s sounding reflective ballad (think Noel Harrison ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’), with a brief acoustic break, a boisterous string arrangement and another excellent vocal.

The languid blues of ‘Just For You’ doesn’t quite sparkle until the piano break, while the guitar is mixed too far back.

But she rallies with a movingly phrased cover of Tom Waits’s ‘Picture In A Frame’.

It’s arguably the most ambitious moment of her career and she nails the song with real feel and emotional conviction, to round off her best solo album so far in real style. ***

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)