RICHARD DAWSON
End Of The Middle (Weird World)
“Back to basics”: a slogan beloved of tedious Tory traditionalists – but, when it comes to Richard Dawson, no bad thing (not that 2022’s expansive The Ruby Cord wasn’t wonderful in its own way).
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End Of The Middle is a much closer cousin of 2020 in its focus on the earthly and the everyday, but with one crucial difference: the personal is just that – personal – rather than pressed into bigger-picture state-of-the-nation service. Dawson’s vignettes, foregrounded by the minimalist instrumentation, are constructed in plain English and infused with touchstone, often mildly comic cultural references – yet reveal hidden depths.
The album takes time to truly hit its stride, but the final four tracks are exceptional: The Knot, a tale of a disastrous wedding and being desensitised by depression that unexpectedly explodes into fuzz; Polytunnel, about seeking solace and distraction from trauma in gardening; Removals Van, which adopts a filmic flashback style to reflect poignantly on painful memories of family dysfunction and the uncertainties of the present and future; and surprisingly synth-cushioned closer More Than Real, co-authored and performed with partner Sally Pilkington, which is guaranteed to give you ALL the feels.
words BEN WOOLHEAD
