The best things come to those who wait, which certainly seems true of C.D reviews sometimes. Nestled below a pile of what I call ‘déjà vu’ discs, was something infinitely more interesting.
Sonny has been three years in the making, for singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Tom Bromley, and the time taken over this release shows. All the instruments are combined together in a subtle, yet highly melodic way, the vocal arrangements are simple, yet emotive, and the songs themselves varied.
The album starts off quite slowly, with a simple acoustic guitar arrangement on title track ‘Sonny’, then you are treated to some subtle electric guitar, before the drum beats kick in towards the end, and the song starts to soar. Along with the ‘simple to soaring’ technique, Tom’s strong vocal is also used to good effect, giving a raw, emotive, edge to sad songs like ‘Beaten By Defeat’.
Highlights include ‘Georgia’ with its classic rock feel, that’s coupled with a lot of atmosphere and originality. There’s also the bluesy, piano led ‘Hold On’, and the catchy, rhythmic ‘Nothing To Do Or Say’, that also stand out on the album. Listen to ‘All The Away’ if your looking for some indie guitar riffs, ‘Need You So Bad’ for wistful soul, and ‘Calling Your Name’ for some old school pop/rock slightly reminiscent of musicians like Jools Holland and Phil Collins.
This is an album that will take you on a trip from old school rock, right up to present day indie/folk/soul music. My only real critique would be that at times the lyrics can be a bit repetitive and the music a little too soft/slow for my tastes, but apart from that I enjoyed ‘Sonny’. There’s more variety here than you’d get on most albums in this genre, all the songs are well produced, and some of the tracks have quite moving melodies. As some of his previous reviewers have said, the singer-songwriter market is tough, but I think Tom Bromley is an artist that will hold his own.
‘Sonny’ is released on October 5th on 4 Real Records. For more information visit www.thomasbromley.com