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Willy Mason - Carry On
3-5 StarsA return to irregular song structures and stripped back guitar and drums.
Willy Mason’s strength lies in what other artists might consider weakness. It was his slow-paced, apathy-inducing drawl, idiosyncratic accompaniment and musical style which brought him to the something-folk foreground in 2005, but then he chose to abandon his hypnotic brand of social commentary for more common and slightly bland songwriting traits in his follow-up album, even teaming up with KT Tunstall at one point. We’d rather songs about flies reading Dostoevsky than Tunstall urging us to be strong, we all cried.
‘Carry On’ does anything but that. It is a break from the second album and a return to irregular song structures and stripped back guitar and drums. Opener ‘What Is This’ sets the tone with a dark, atmospheric treatise on what life is: ‘What is this / Evergreens are dying / Are they even trying?’ Mason’s voice is lazier and more monotone than it ever was on the debut (a good thing) but the infectious nuances and off-beat concepts in the music are still not quite at their 2005 levels - but at least it’s a return to the dreary Mason we all know and love.
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Willy Mason, Ruby Lounge, Manchester
Mason shines best in intimate venues such as this where the rich and raspy tone of his narration of fabled Americana is best appreciated.
10th December 2012, 1:52pm
Willy Mason To Play One Off Acoustic Show This Week
Mason will showcase tracks from his forthcoming third album in an intimate setting.
26th March 2012, 10:44am
Listen: Willy Mason Returns With New Track ‘Restless Fugitive’
'Restless Fugitive' is the first music from Willy Mason for five years.
22nd February 2012, 5:01pm
Sounds From The Other City 2011
An impressive, quirky little festival, put together by people who love, live and breathe music.
25th May 2011, 2:04pm
Featuring SOFT PLAY, Corinne Bailey Rae, 86TVs, English Teacher and more!