Tomber Sur PRW
Need To Know, 2023
9/10
The singer-songwriter and guitarist Anton O’Donnell brings his Scottish influence to these thoughtful, descriptive songs that welcome plenty of guests to his unique version of Americana.
The warm and cozy “Kindness” begins the listen with O’Donnell’s fluid acoustic guitar and expressive voice alongside Derrek Phillips’ soft drums and Russ Pahl’s glowing pedal steel, and the rugged “Skuld” follows with Roscoe Wilson’s spirited electric guitar complementing John Deaderick’s firm keys.
The intimate “Dreams Fade Under The Weight” arrives in the middle, and uses Rob Ickes’ pretty dobro and Eamon McLoughlin’s fiddle and mandolin amid Shannon Hynes’ harmonic backing vocals, while “Shine A Light” enters dreamy territory thanks to Mai Bloomfield’s moody cello and Dennis Crouch’s precise upright bass.
Close to the end, “Set It On Fire” makes great use of Frank Swart’s meticulous bass that complements O’Donnell’s poetic pipes, and “Django” exits with Pahl’s aching pedal steel and McLoughlin’s stirring fiddle and mandolin suiting the gentle and stirring vocals and acoustic guitar from O’Donnell.
An artist with a wealth of talent, O’Donnell’s vision resides somewhere between folk, country, Americana and bluegrass, and the songs are so well written you will want revisit them again and again.
Travels well with: Funkwrench Blues- Soundtrack For A Film Without Pictures; Nathan Bell- Red, White And American Blues