Album Review

Daniel Merriweather – Love & War

• 1st Jun 2009

It’s an oft-lamented fact that in recent years the British music-buying public has shown an unquenchable thirst for yawningly mediocre singer-songwriters. So it was admittedly with trepidation, with prejudices firmly in place that I pressed play on this forthcoming album from next big thing Daniel Merriweather. I was, happily, well off the mark.

The opening bars of “For Your Money” are worryingly Blunt-esque, but the album opener reveals itself to be something much more substantial than anything in Blunt’s oeuvre, it’s a cynical, lyrically complex piece that introduces Merriweather’s bluesy delivery and benefits from some fine lead guitar work in the Jimmy Page mould.

Throughout Love and War Merriweather shows a maturity and craft well beyond his modest years. The singer broods his way through top ten hit “Red”, a conflicted, bitter breakup ballad, and collaborates brilliantly with rapper Wale on the album’s other previous single, the RnB-heavy “Change”. The production is minimalistic, leading to an organic sound and letting the raw beauty of Merriweather’s voice shine through.

The end result is something timeless; songs that would have gone down well in any of the last few decades, from soulful ballads to more upbeat numbers, all of consistently high quality. Merriweather’s exciting talent as a songwriter is well displayed here; he sounds every bit an artist on the verge of stardom.