Album Review: Johnny Flynn – ‘Country Mile’

(Transgressive)

Johnny Flynn – ‘Country Mile’ (Transgressive)

The starkness begins in the title track. With precision lyrics, in a slightly cracked voice, Johnny Flynn captures the strange, metaphorical landscape and oldness of life. The song of a lark is among the ordinary mysteries this rock-folkist-cum-trained Shakespearian actor uses to deduce that a stout heart is all that’s needed to navigate the metaphysics. Raw, under produced phases and rich, episodic strings and brass punctuate tracks like ‘Lady Is Risen’ and ‘Einstein’s Idea’. Banjo, steel guitar, and bitter sweet cello work a subtle magic against descanted harmonies to give that back-down-the-centuries feel. Bang the folk-rock drum, a fine album

4.5 / 5 stars