English folkie Richard Dawson is onto his sixth album and pushing forty, but he’s certainly not a household name. Instead, he’s beloved by music critics but too much of an acquired taste for most. His folkish guitar playing is rough and electric, while, inspired by Mike Patton, he throws his voice around wildly. Dawson’s music is also reminiscent of American blues weirdo Captain Beefheart, or even the charming and meandering songs of Robert Wyatt. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he plays almost all of the instruments on 2020, but the focus is on his propulsive and raw guitar playing.
Dawson’s previous record, Peasant, focused on medieval life. 2020 is clearly focused on modern life in Britain. The album opens with the prosaic lines “Open your eyes, time to wake up/Shit, shower, brush your teeth, drain your cup” from ‘Civil Servant’. Dawson’s songs on 2020 are often focused on lengthy narrative; the UFO sighting of ‘Black Triangle’ is eight minutes long, while ‘Fulfillment Centre’ runs longer than ten minutes.
‘Jogging’ is built around a pounding rock riff and sweetens his sound with synths, giving Dawson’s music more universal appeal than usual. ‘Black Triangle’ is also built around a dark and heavy riff, perhaps not surprising for someone who spent hours watching Iron Maiden videos as a teenager.
2020 is more accessible than Dawson’s previous work, with his partner educating him towards pop music. But it’s still very much outsider music; ‘Two Halves’ tells the story of a child playing football, harangued from the sidelines.
The focus on lengthy story-telling can limit the replay value of 2020, but it’s still an accomplished record, with its rough-hewn and anxious stories of modern life.
8 Comments
Leave a Reply
Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:
I add new blog posts to this website every week. Browse the archives or enjoy these random selections:
Subscribe
Subscribe to receive new posts from Aphoristic Album Reviews.
I’m familiar with the name, but not the music. Sounds like the kinda thing I’d like, so I’m gonna take this as a starting place.
There are a lot of famous people named Richard Dawson, like the English actor in Hogans Heroes.
I think this is his most accessible record yet.
Good description on throwing his voice around. I do like the guitar on both. Two Halves is growing on me after the 3rd listen.
Thanks for listening. I think he’s pretty deep into outsider music/acquired taste.
Very impressed! Blown away in fact. Brilliant songs, and a masterful way of conveying a story via song. Poignant, hilarious, intriguing all at once. Love the way he repeats almost not one word, and how the lyrics flow in purely conversation fashion. Hadn’t heard of the cat before. 2020 is off to a flyer with, appropriately-enough, ‘2020’!
Cool. Glad you liked it! He’s been gradually building a profile, but I think he’s destined to remain distinctly niche (but in a good way).
That description appeals to me – a mix of Wyatt meandering, do-it-yourself instruments, increasingly accessible yet still outsider. Sounds good to me!
Cool! A lot of people liked Dawson, which is cool!