It's pretty common for artists to describe their music as 'honest' and 'emotionally raw' these days, but rarely have I heard someone come close to the levels that David reaches on this record. Having gone through the devastating loss of his partner in circumstances which become evident from the lyrics, it takes real courage to be as absolutely fearless and brutally honest as this. David threads this veracity through numerous biblical references often used as metaphors for the characters and situations he is depicting. Interspersed with the six main tracks are pieces of spoken word poetry, all of which are well put together and highly emotive, and David performs them with deep feeling in his delivery. While in honesty I am not sure they are necessarily best placed in between every single track, perhaps between every other track might have sufficed, the pieces act as a constant reminder of the darkness and sorrow that enshrouds this record. The first five of these are titled Meifumado (1-5), a term which comes from the Lone Wolf And Cub manga series. It's a composite Japanese word that doesn't translate exactly into English but would equate to the phrase 'road to hell' or 'demon path'. It's a phrase which David told me he strongly relates to, feeling a kinship with the manga character's journey through adversity. It all pulls together into a beautiful narrative that portrays the unfortunate tragedy which David has gone through and that has inspired this album.
The album kicks off with the short, punchy and very catchy gospel number Invocation. It's a track brimming with hope and praise, and whilst I am not a person of religion, I can still appreciate the sentiment behind the track. PTSD is a six minute piano-led sprawl based around a simple but emotive rising and falling melody. David's vocals are the focal point on the song as they echo out across the minimal landscape that is being created. It's a decent tune, but at six minutes long it feels a little drawn out and were it not for the lyrics this song might have faded out of consciousness a little. However, much like Cohen, David's lyrics are hard to ignore with their breathlessly raw images of addiction and substance abuse. I did enjoy this opening sector of the record, though I had been feeling slightly underwhelmed up until this point.
But then I play the next track Lilith, and I am left absolutely floored...
Lilith is a stunning track, remarkable in every way and by far the best on the album. The original track, titled Adam & Eve on the David T8tz album, is a jaunty indie-folk number, but now he has completely revamped the song into something exquisitely grief-stricken. Focusing directly on the torment of his loss and the struggles of beginning anew with children, it's a delicate and utterly devastating piece of genius songcraft. The instrumental features a gorgeous finger picked guitar line that sounds like the Bright Eyes classic Luna but with even more melancholy. There are fluttering synthesisers and exquisite falsetto piano lines ringing through the track that, along with the ghostly subtle beat, give the song a truly emotive ambience.
David's vocals here are just incredible, and for the first time the woe which he has been talking about so well in his lyrics really comes out in the music. There is a fragile timbre in his vocal tone, and when his voice starts to break up in passages towards the end I can almost taste the tears that he is struggling to hold back. The lyrics are perfect and the biblical metaphors work phenomenally well, but it's the simple chorus words “so wake up, darling, wake up” that are most effective. Repeating throughout the song and resonating with anguish and mourning, they're made even more poignant when portrayed in David's tender and breathy baritone. As the track builds towards the end we get a backing vocal provided beautifully by his daughter; a bold and haunting reminder of what has been lost. Lilith is absolutely mesmerising, and it's one of the most incredible new songs I've heard in a long time.
Ferryman takes on a vintage Americana tune and puts it to a modern beat, with David's vocals becoming very rhythmic in the verses and more anthemic in the choruses. It's superbly produced, managing to keep David's vocal at the forefront but still emphasising the intriguing melody. Dance On Broken Legs strips things back even more, with the minimal instrumentation subtly sitting behind David's cavernous vocals. It's a sweet tune that acts as a magnificently sanguine counterpoint to Lilith's heartache.
Chicago is the most overtly folk tune on the record, but it's elevated beyond a mere reworking of already well trodden tropes. As David sings about needing body-warmth from those he loves to counteract the biting cold of the Windy City, the effervescent slide guitar, ethereal synthesiser and lucid beat give the track an almost celestial atmosphere. Aside from Lilith, this the most well-written track on the album; it constructs itself nicely as it moves forward keeping the listener engaged throughout, but it never becomes overbearing or ostentatious. The final spoken word piece that follows, Benediction, begins as a typical tribute to endings but quickly turns into a heart-wrenching and almost fierce attack on the universe. It's a sobering end to this album, a reminder that despite all the hope that one might be able to find, it remains almost impossible to truly overcome the tragedy which befalls us, and instead we have to find our own way of living with it.
The more I listen to this record, the more I am really becoming enveloped by it's charms. I still think that Lilith stands on its own as the best song on this album, but every track has it's value too. I am particularly impressed by how David manages to convey so many different shades of the same emotions; it's a particularly nuanced skill that many songwriters struggle with. The things that David had to go through in order for this album to be as it is can never be considered worth it, but LOOP is a beautiful tribute to his wife, his family, and to David himself; and on this evidence he has an extremely bright musical future ahead of him.
LOOP will be released worldwide on 15th November 2020. The album is on pre-sale now, and you can buy it digitally here, and on vinyl here
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