having brought the band miss black america to an abrupt end, i guess it was only a matter of time before the main songwriter, patrick seymour, emerged under a new alias. so, say hello to the debut album, import/export, by open>mouth.

from the cover artwork of a war destined helicopter flying over a parade of american and union jack flags, to the simple back to basics acoustic music, it becomes very clear that patrick has a lot going on in his head that he needs to deal with through song.

not only that but there is the small matter that a huge percentage of the sales of this album are bound for the war child charity, so patrick is putting his money where his mouth is.

i suspect that the music would be tagged as emo and normally be a type of music i avoid.

however, there is something about the upfront production (by andy taylor) that makes the simple instrumentation of the electric or acoustic guitar sound positively alive and vibrant all matched by the growly passionate vocals.

i haven’t had the chance to really absorb the lyrics, but for the lazy people, the intense words are printed and reveal a lot of anger, inner turmoil, and distrust in the world. taking a typical sample from opening track the quietest : 

they tally deaths like sports results, so every newsflash brings fresh insults

the songs are tough and hard hitting, as well as having some wonderful hooks that reveal themselves gently with each subsequent listen, making for a startling change to the usual lad-rock that the mainstream music media is still pushing ahead with. in these manufactured and controlled times, it’s great that someone has the need to be so forthright and intense, as opposed to just playing the industry game to score easy media points.

summary : a fascinating, brave album.

 

more detail : here