Joe Wilkes – Looking for the Grave of Garcia

Joe Wilkes – Looking for the Grave of Garcia Lorca Vida Music VMCD008

This London-based singer songwriter has an old head on young shoulders, and this is an articulate and accomplished third album. The wordy lyrics float over delicate, spacious musical arrangements and Wilkes matches his melodic sensibilities with a storyteller’s lyrical focus, using grainy string quartet, thick harmonica, dirty saxophone or sensitive harmony to embellish his thoughtful musical tales. There is a mid-Atlantic feel to this album for me, with guitar flourishes reminiscent of Giltrap or Jansch, the occasional Dylan touch and vocals that cross Ben Ottewell (Gomez) with James Taylor and add the odd John Martyn-esque slurs. This is a refreshing contemporary album from a talented chap.
- David Pearson -Power of Prog