Album Review

TD Lind – The Outskirts of Prosper

• 11th May 2011

English songwriter TD Lind’s third album was recorded in Los Angeles, where he now lives, and offers a well crafted and varied collection of twelve songs. There are love songs, odes to his new wife, but also some darker offerings.

Lind’s vocals are relaxed and emotional throughout. He has an even tone that suits his songwriting perfectly and his fine guitar work features throughout the album.

The Outskirts Of Prosper opens with its first single Pushover Boy Blues, a bright song about falling in love. It has a calm feel to it, with Lind’s vocals having a blues sound despite the upbeat nature of the lyrics and his guitar sparkles in the background.

Black Dress follows a similar path, celebrating new love. There is a slight country feel here as Lind tells of the joy brought by his new relationship. Head Over Heels again uses a cheery blues styling that probably shouldn’t work, but somehow it comes across as natural and jubilant rather than contradictory. And It’s Lovely is a joyous pop song with a simple melody that celebrates love and features an excellent guitar solo.

But this is not an album composed entirely of love songs. There are other highlights too. The ballad Sing To The Moon tells of longing rather than love. With Lind at the piano there is only a subtle guitar part here and there that is somehow more powerful for its sparse nature.

Goodnight From Hollywood is a slower song and is probably Lund’s best vocal performance on the album. A song of alienation and rejection, it stands out as very different from the love themed tracks and the simmering guitar threatens to burst through at any moment. This is the one I keep coming back to.

The title track comes close to being a rock song with its unrelenting drum beat and guitar fills that give a hard edge to another song of alienation. Coming Home offers yet another different approach with piano and slide guitar backing vocals that soar into a higher tone for the simple chorus.

And Last Train For Redemption features almost spoken lyrics that build into a soft ode to seeking a way out before finishing with a great guitar outro that seems to come from nowhere.

TD Lind has created a fine album that showcases a talent who is perhaps not as well known in the UK as he deserves to be. There may be songs about LA here but the alienation of big city life can be universal. This one is well worth checking out if you enjoy a combination of good songs and great guitar.