Roy Davis ‘The Awakening’ Album Review
Self deprecation is the key to amazing songwriting. Sure, there are good songs about trains or being mad at a girl, but when a writer can pull their own ego away from the process enough to really lay it into themselves and with a humorous and humble sense about it, that is pure magic. Roy Davis is the king of dry wit, self deprecation, and he is an absolute genius songwriter.
The latest from Davis, titled ‘The Awakening’, seems to take the best parts of his duo project with Bernie Nye “The Coloradas” and sprinkles in some of the rock n’ roll stylings to fill the sound that he had adopted in a previous life with his band, Roy Davis and the Dregs. The combination of the two results in an absolutely phenomenal new record from the songwriter with a focus on writing incredible story songs with varied instrumentation and feel to keep it interesting and the listener hanging on his ever word.
From the first note of the record we are taken on a bit of a downtrodden path. The slow pluck of an old acoustic guitar clears the way, drums plodding alongside it and Davis exclaiming “I live in an Airstream parked in my friends back yard and / I traded all my things, for cigarettes and paranoia“. He is (as always) on point with his ability to really paint a picture with his words and does it so simply, so effortlessly. These are the kinds of songs I wish that I wrote. The drum and acoustic are joined in song by an electric guitar ringing out softly in echoed hesitance.
“One by One” has such a groove to it, lead by a really fantastic lead guitar with a rock n’ roll, blues kind of influence, an ever present tambourine, and Davis picking up the pace a bit in his vocal. Something else that Roy does, surround himself with great musicians to elevate his writing to a whole new level. That is also present in the great mandolin work in “Liberty” and “Johnson County” (I would guess, courtesy of Joe Walsh?).
My favorite line of the record comes in the waltz of “Down in The Clay”.
While the bluebirds keep singing their autumnal hymns / and terrible people do terrible things
This is such an uncomplicated, straightforward phrase to speak, but coupled with the vulnerability and hesitance of Davis’s careful voice, it just cuts deep into my chest and resonates there. I suppose that brings another point. Roy also has the type of voice that is unique, its clean, but not oversung. It just works so perfectly with his songs. He has one of my favorite voices for this genre of music.
Roy Davis’s ability to be varied, yet straight forward and managing all the puzzle pieces to fit perfect, is on full display. There are some uptempo numbers, a few songs deep seeded in early american roots, some bluesy influences and of course, some sad songs. His one liners and capacity to come up with simple, straighforward, but genius lyrics is a true highlight of his music. You want to listen to hear what he will come up with next, and when that line hits, you smile and internally high-five yourself, because this guy’s writing is THAT f*cking good. This songwriter is one of the best our generation has. Take note folks.
2015 is proving to be a tough one, front loaded with incredible music…but I will say, this is another top 10 record. Given the fact that it holds the most spins in my iTunes for the past 2 months by a longshot cements it a place there. So good.
