If Bob Gemmell has made a name for himself as a certain type of Americana singer-songwriter who delivers focused narratives gently cocooned in shimmering sonic glows, this time out, he flips things on their head slightly. I’m not for one moment saying that the lyrics and the storyline take a back seat here, but I would say that the mood of “Slowtown” is set as much by the music as it is by the poetic descriptions it contains.
Painting a picture of the essence of the night, the dislocation and disorientation of being in an unfamiliar place, and the slow emergence into a neon dawn, it is the guitar work, the arabesque riff, the ticking beats, and the melodic bass line that sets the scene as much as Gemmell’s description of the nocturnal activities going on around him.
Too many artists, especially those who fall into the singer-songwriter category, forget that the guitar is not just there to propel the words, it is much more valuable a tool than that. It can, and indeed should, be used to create the right backdrop, set the scene for the lyrics to dance through, and act as the sonic stage for the word-characters to play their part.
“Slowtown” is not only a great song but also a great reminder that the words, whilst they might be the part of the song that many listeners connect with most immediately and obviously, are only half of a song—sometimes not even that.
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