The Warlord isn’t, as early impressions may suggest, any form of metal band. In fact The Warlord is one man and his guitar. That man is Tim Bradley, perhaps best know for his drumming with Dugong. ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ is The Warlord‘s debut release, and features seven tracks, encompassing half an hour of acoustic musings.
Now the more literary of you will have noticed that the title of this release is taken from George Orwell’s celebrated novel about the trappings of a society governed by power hungry maniacs. In this sense ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’, arriving as it does in the middle of our own seemingly “perpetual†war on terror, strikes a number of chords – some of which are explained in the sleeve notes.
This is not though, a release that concentrates on one aspect of life. The Warlord takes us on a musical journey through his song writing. Opening track ‘Portrait’ is a powerful take on love. The opening line of “She looks just like a Leonard Cohen song†best sums up the imagery The Warlord is capable of conjuring up. With his acoustic guitar, and hushed vocals, The Warlord brings depth of feeling to his songs. Attentions are turned to current politics with ‘The Lie’, a well-structured song that is complemented by the haunting sparse piano. The thing that stands out the most in this release is the quality of the songs and that’s the biggest compliment you can pay any songwriter. The stripped down nature of The Warlord‘s material really gives him and his songs the chance to shine. The quality is consistently good throughout, but it is final track ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ that really makes you realise the depth of The Warlord‘s creativity.
‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ is a release that has impressed me. An acoustic release is always a test of any artist’s talent, and The Warlord has passed with flying colours – staying on the right side of cliché and showcasing some strong original material. This comes highly recommended to fans of acoustic rock and also goes someway to dispelling that old myth about drummers being talentless!
www.novabomb.com
Mark