Damien Boggs - From The Living Room (Independent)
A thirteen-track collection, of which the first ten were recorded at home in his living room, in a single afternoon – the clue’s in the title, I suppose. There were no edits, no overdubs, and no re-takes. It must have been tempting to go back and clean up the occasional missed syllable or bad note, but I’m pleased he didn’t. “From The Living Room” is one of the most vibrant recordings I’ve heard in a very long time. Though decidedly unfussy, it’s hardly lo-fi. Boggs voice is vividly recorded, and it’s as if he’s playing in your living room rather than his own.

His folk-blues style is very much suited to the intimacy of his surroundings and his songs, whether engaged with the personal or the eternal, bleed truth and emotional substance. Maybe that would be lost in a shiny digitalized, state of the art studio, an irregularity that may save Boggs a fortune in coming years.

Before we go any further, I want to make plain that “From The Living Room” is an intense, powerful, beautiful album that should be played from start to finish. If, however, you’re after single tracks to stock your iPod, then you wont go far wrong with “To Bring You Back Home” or “I Go To The Rock”, but do try and hear the whole record if you can.
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