Steve Thompson AKA Blabbermouth
Album: Ramble
Label: Blabbermouth Records
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/blabbermouth

Steve Thompson is an indie-folk singer songwriter based in London and "Ramble " is his new album. "Ramble" appears to have two meanings in relation to this recording. Firstly, it means to walk for pleasure, without necessarily following a defined route and, secondly, to talk at length.On this album, Steve takes us rambling around diverse places [ New York, London, Amsterdam, Littlehampton and Arundel Castle in Sussex] and describes to the listener his relationships with those places.

The album begins with "I Like The Birds", in which Steve tells of his love for nature [I like the birds more than my friends].

The first "place" song is "No Net Curtains In New York" which is based on a scene from the film "Frankie and Johnnie" which starred Michelle Pfeiffer in which her character looks out of her window into a neighbour's apartment. This is followed by "Old Grey London " which is a gentle acoustic ballad in which Steve tells us that he is not sure whether he still loves London because she has grown fat and old but he concludes that he is "not giving up on her yet". The next stop on our ramble with Steve is" Amsterdam ",in which he describes his feelings for the city that has the " most open mind".

"The Farm We'll Never Have " is a poignant song about Steve's unfulfilled wish to have a farm with seven dogs, a yellow tractor, an aga, an apple orchard and a cabbage patch. Here, extra colour is added by Josienne Clark's vocals and Nick Cooke's melodeon. The song ends on a hopeful note as it mentions "The farm we may have".

"360" is a lovely song about Steve's love of nature as he walks through the fields where there is only time to kill. The beauty is such that he "Can see why any creature would believe there is a God".

"Littlehampton " is a song about Steve's love for his hometown on the Sussex coast [ does anybody know of any other songs about Littlehampton ?]. This song also features Nick Cooke's melodeon. Not far from Littlehampton [just a short distance inland] is" Arundel Castle ", the subject of the next song, which deals with Steve's childhood memories [ Arundel Castle, buckets of sand]. A personal memory that is quite charming.

"Dust" is a whimsical song in which the writer asks the listener "What should I sing about ? " and, for some reason, reminds me of the late Clifford T.Ward's work, which is no bad thing at all.

The final pair of songs "Money Year" and "Canary" both deal with the theme of wealth and ambition. The first deals with financial disappointment ["This is not the money year" ]and the second is about ambition and the people who work in the concrete and glass of the financial sector, the people who crave the big spend. The song ends with the repeated line "One more year I'll have no more rungs to climb ", sung by Steve and Josienne Clark.

This is fine album by a thoughtful, reflective songwriter whose lyrics are evocative and descriptive. If you get a chance, give it a listen, you will enjoy it, I am sure.

Peter Cowley