The Sad Song Co. WORTH. Passive Aggressive Records

The Sad Song Co., the solo moniker of Nigel Powell – touring and studio drummer for Frank Turner’s the Sleeping Souls, one quarter of Dive Dive and ex-member of Unbelievable Truth – released his fourth album WORTH on 9th February 2018. The track ‘What You Make Of It’ is drawn from The Sad Song Co.’s fourth album WORTH, and an initial insight into this deeply personal album. First impressions can make sweeping statements about how you approach someone, and ‘What You Make Of It’ takes us directly into the heart of Powell’s latest outpouring.

Powell released third album IN AMBER in November 2016, a successful crowd-funded return to solo songwriting nine years after 2007’s POIGNANT DEVICE while continuing to be in bands and making his living on the road. An album dealing with stories around an old people’s home, it showcased a side of the man that most new fans had yet to see. WORTH then is the sound of a man whose previously dormant abilities have burst a dam, flowing creativity and imagination into complex and deeply personal songs.“When I wasn’t getting time to make albums of my own I would get quite frustrated and depressed in that situation because I didn’t have an avenue for expressing myself the way I really wanted to do it,” explains Powell.

“So coming back to The Sad Song Co. has been a very positive thing for me.”  WORTH sees Powell’s productivity in overdrive, coming so soon after IN AMBER yet sounding considered and something drawn together over time. Pulling even more from his love of progressive rock, songs like ‘The Body Beautiful’ grasp at the edges of expectation, Powell’s disarming voice scaling the escalating key changes. The album’s innocuous indie-rock intro, ‘Lifestyles’, was unearthed from 1994, but the hesitant chord change before Powell’s voice soars. With each song, you’re often in familiar territory feeling uneasy, at risk, about to leave solid ground.
Personnel on the album include backing vocals from Frank Turner, Billy Pettinger (AKA Billy the Kid), Max Kerman of Arkells and Kat Jones on Worth My Bones, Jason Moulster of UnbelievableTruth on bass for four tracks, Ryan Robinson tackling the guitar solos Nigel wrote throughout the album, Chris T-T co-writing lyrics for ‘The Body Beautiful’ and ‘Lonely Is A State of Mind’, Radiohead engineer Graeme Stewart recording again, this time for only one day at Woodworm Studios, and Grammy-award winning Chris Kasych (Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young) mixing, with the rest done by Powell at home.

Review

I am forever sceptical at the hype put out by PR people to promote their clients. But I have to declare that much of what is written above rings true. ‘Lifestyle’ opens proceedings in a slow, calculating manner. I’m struck by the vocal distinction, the simple but very effective rocky instrumental background and finally the quality of song-writing. There’s strong lyrics, abundant melody, powerful rhythmic foundation and striking choruses - it’s a very strong opener and introduction to this artist. ‘I Don’t See It’ is next and the clarity of the vocal is stunning with each lyric crystal clear. Lyrically, it’s simple and intelligent - “If tomorrow’s never done there’s always hope, even if I don’t see it.”

‘Einmal Ist Keinmal’ follows and is dominated by pulsating, melodic instrumental and punctuated by soaring multi-layer vocals. It’s full of adventure and quality - genuinely putting emotion into sound. ‘Islands’ is a moving song dominated by the most expressive vocal and classical-style piano notes. It’s nothing short of gorgeous and very theatrical. The rock-pop returns with a lighter, more optimistic ‘Lonely Is A State Of Mind’ which is slap bang into radio/Radio 1 territory and not to my taste. ‘The Body Beautiful’ reverts to more serious musical territory with a gentle instrumental intro leading to another supremely expressive and fragile vocal. There’s truckloads of melody and a very controlled rocky vibe. It’s an epic song that should be bombing the airwaves right now but it’s quality may be just a little too high…

‘What You Make Of It’ again features the piano that follows a fragile echoed vocal in a song that’s original and distinctive. ‘Worth My Bones’ opens with a multi-layered vocal and more piano notes with drums providing a solid rhythm. It’s both adventurous in sound and confessional in nature. This is an album I can heartily recommend to music fans looking for something new, serious but infinitely accessible.

4.5/5

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