The Sweet Lowdown
Album: Chasing The Sun
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 12
Website: http://thesweetlowdown.ca/

I discovered British Columbian band The Sweet Lowdown quite by chance. I was sent their second album, the lovely "May", to review and I was immediately captivated by their sweet harmonies and marvellous musicianship.

The Sweet Lowdown comprises Amanda Blied (guitar and vocals, Shanti Bremer (banjo and vocals) and Miriam Sonstenes (fiddle and vocals). Together they are a force to be reckoned with as not only are they superb musicians and singers but they are all, individually, formidable songwriters/composers.

I was fortunate to see The Sweet Lowdown play live in April of this year and I was hugely impressed with their performance which highlighted their prodigious talents. At that show, they played several new compositions which now appear on their new album "Chasing The Sun".

The big question for me was whether their new album would live up to its glorious predecessor, "May". The answer is a resounding "Yes".

As before, the playing and singing on this new album is exemplary, from the opening "River Winding Down" to the closing "The Rain"which is the only non-original on the album, having been written by Zane Parker.

This band is clearly a democracy as each member has contributed three compositions, with one co-write and the afore-mentioned cover. One of the appealing aspects of The Sweet Lowdown is that they write songs that reflect real issues, such as climate change (Shanti's "River Winding Down"), pollution of the sea by nuclear waste (Amanda's "Fallout") and light pollution ("You Can Find The North" also written by Amanda).

On a more personal level is Amanda's "Birds And The Bees" (I'll let you guess what that is about). One track that I particularly enjoy is Shanti's "Road Song". I know what you are thinking, "Not another song about life on the road by a travelling musician". However, this one is irresistible, being a superb bluegrass breakdown featuring wonderful solos from Shanti (banjo), Miriam (fiddle) and guesting mandolinist Darren Nicholson. Great stuff.

By way of contrast is Miriam's beautiful a cappella ballad "Leaving", in which she laments being separated from family. This Celtic-influenced piece is a real treasure and with a little encouragement could become a folk club standard.

So far, I have only mentioned the songs. I should add that there are four excellent instrumentals on offer here as well. Miriam composed the albums title track, "Chasing The Sun", a glorious depiction of a flight from sunset into sunrise. Also written by Miriam is "Bunching Up The Sheets", a fiddle tour de force which, as I recall, went down a storm in concert.

Shanti's tune is "April 29th" which features her nimble banjo picking as well as some fine fiddling by Miriam.

The band's first co-write is "Brokedown Breakdown"by Shanti and Miriam and we are invited to guess who wrote which part.

On the CD sleeve it states "Made with love in Canada". It is abundantly clear that a great deal of love went into the making of this wonderful album. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen.

Peter Cowley