A Sunday Drive
Self-Released, 2023
8/10
The folk artist Ed Sweeney draws inspiration from a photo that Cindy Wilson shared on social media (see the cover art) for these 11 primarily cover songs, where Cathy Clasper-Torch’s multi-instrumental skills add much beauty to the affair.
“Auld Lang Syne” opens the listen with tremendous warmth, as Sweeney’s mesmerizing acoustic guitar and Clasper-Torch’s stirring fiddle makes for a stunning intimacy, and “A Long Time Traveling” follows with Sweeney’s fluid 5 string banjo and husky voice amid the elegant strings.
In the middle, the emotive “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” uses Clasper-Torch’s poetic cello and the melodic guitar for a dreamy climate, while “Walking Boss” is more firm, and meshes the playful banjo and heartfelt strings alongside Sweeney’s expressive pipes.
At the end, “A Childhood Medley” brings us plenty of nostalgia via the songs we all knew as a child, and “Distant Shore” exits with a rich and very pretty finish of sublime singing and light instrumentation.
A listen that’s as timeless as the songs present, Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson’s drumming and rattle adds much to the sophisticated and soul-touching delivery from Sweeney and Clasper-Torch’s cozy execution.
Travels well with: Miles & Mafale- Be Brave; Brian Kalinec- The Beauty Of It All