David Ford, "Go To Hell"

I'm not sure why, but it seemed like I got twice as much email from PR folks and bands this week than I normally do. Guess labels are gearing up for a ton of Late Spring/Early Summer releases... or something.

Anyway, one of the more interesting things I got was a link to a video from an artist named David Ford. David used to be the singer in a British indie rock band called Easyworld, but has recently made the transition over to a solo singer-songwriter, a la Damien Rice after he left Juniper (now known as Bell X1).

And the Damien Rice comparisons don't stop there. In it's best moments, David's recent (second) album, Songs for the Road, is reminiscent of Rice's ability to mix a keen melodic sense with an extremely raw, personal delivery and lyrics. Unfortunately, though, Rice isn't the only touchstone for the album - several songs on the album push a bit too far into the false-affected, over-produced realm of James Blunt. Not a good thing. I'm still trying to figure out which side of the fence the album will eventually fall for me.

All that said, Ford has made a video for his song "Go To Hell" which eschews the fuller production of the album and instead relies on numerous sound loops to recreate a full-band sound (similar to what Liam Finn is doing in his live shows these days). And it's pretty damn good:



David is currently touring with Sara Bareilles and Rachel Yamagata (a friend of Damien Rice, natch). You couldn't really pay me to go to this show, which I suppose is good because their show here in DC at the 9:30 Club on Monday is sold out. Starting next week he'll be on tour with Augustana, including a return trip to the 9:30 Club on May 22nd. For a full set of dates, go here.

And while we're at it, here's a video of "Bleach" from David's earlier band, Easyworld. It's pretty solid, IMO.