All skittish keys and flickery vocals, David’s Lyre‘s new offerings suit perfectly my current favourite activity: shivering. As I rub my hands and mutter terrible curses while waiting for trains, buses, bosses and dates, so Paul Dixon’s chamber-pop-rock songs embark on hesitant ascents, wide-eyed pronouncements, maudlin string-downers and sudden, spirited riffs. They feel battered and bruised by the cruelties of life, but still bursting with pluck, wonder, and a fistful of magic dust.
The tunes are those expected to form the bulk of a debut album, Picture Of Our Youth, which Dixon is finally self-releasing via Bandcamp on February 20; he had signed to Universal, only to leave in frustration after six months, hence the long wait. It sounds like it has been well worth the patience.
David’s Lyre - This Time (mp3)