Roddy Hart – Bookmarks

Scottish wunderkind Roddy Hart has the heart and soul of a Nebraska farm hand. Tough, sentimental and straightforward, the songs collected on Bookmarks, his surprising debut, bear all the hallmarks of classic Americana. Harts big-eyed, yearning prose and wide-open sound goes well with Springsteen and Earle, two obvious influences; his supporting cast here includes such disparate artists as Kris Kristofferson and members of the Trashcan Sinatras. Songs such as The Life And Times Of Joseph Rowe, I Will Not Fear The Dark and Time Is The Thief are fully purposeful renderings of the rural spirit. Elsewhere, Hart is overly reliant on the obvious; She Is All I Need and Rain In December cover well-worn themes and feelings, while his singing rarely deviates from a standard Nashville drawl. Perhaps a bit too earnest and respectful for his own good, Hart would do well to venture away from the Americana he so meticulously admires in favor of some homegrown British inspiration. Elvis Costello and Billy Bragg used American roots as means to an end without sacrificing an ounce of their anglophile integrity; Bookmarks indicates Roddy Hart has the wit and wherewithal to do the same.