Luthrie Lockdown is both the band and the reason for singer, musician and writer Colin McEwan and lodger accordion player Yvonne McLeod started playing together. Expanded to a quartet with the addition of drummer Martin Dibbs and Pete Harvey on Bass and Cello this is their first album but Colin already has a list for next time. “Why Are There No Clouds In The Sky” is Scottish Protest Folk, mixing social comment with Guthrie Dustbowl imagery. With a beautiful accordion and cello arrangement and thoughtful vocal “Gone Fishing” is a sad songp about loss. “High Wire Walking” and “Save The Universe” have a touch of Loudon Wainwright III in the knowing vocal andi sparkling delivery. Songs like “Juggernaut Ways”, “Maybe Tomorrow” and “Next Time” present a writer and musician with his own voice and way of looking a the world. “Next Time”. “Nobody’s Whistling” channels Pete Seeger and The Radio Ballads into a melancholic Lockdown song. “Stronger’s” lyrics title the album and offer a much more positive message for coming back after adversity. “Bury Me On A Hill” is a sensitively delivered song a McEwan original that sounds as old as the Appalachian Mountains.
Marc Higgins 29/07/22
Time Past and Time Passing 