Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly – Young Adults (Xtra Mile Recordings) 2018
7
It’s been a fair while since the summer of 2006 when GCWCF! Mastermind Sam Duckworth Released his smash-hit album Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager; but you would be very wrong if you think he had been resting on his laurels since then. Indeed, this is his sixth official album and Duckworth has released music under Recreations and his own name since as well. Prolific in both his musical output and also his outspoken (and thoroughly educated) stance on several political and social matters. He is a man who can marry his music and his politics in perfect unity and not feel the need to cram it down fans and listeners throats.
He is a crafty songwriter as well, merging gentle verses into huge choruses and vice-versa, and his lyrical wordplay is astounding. A true performer in every sense.
Young Adult is a wistful, gentle album. Voice and guitar do the majority of the work, but occasionally he lets rip with a full band and ups the tempo – and the songs sway deliciously between fragile and bombastic. Occasional forays into synth territory elevate it to a fantastical new level, and the energy is infectious and breath-catching.
Sincere, heartfelt and a brilliant return to his best form. It could well be a bit marmite for everyone’s tastes, but if you were even a passing fan in the early days then there is more than a little to grab you and bring your screaming back into that headspace.