Malcolm Holcombe - 'Tricks of the Trade' - review - Music That Needs Attention (Netherlands) - June 2021

Music that needs attention

Malcolm Holcombe : Tricks of the Trade (Deluxe Edition)

I was really disappointed when Tricks of the Trade only appeared on vinyl last November . Especially because predecessor Come Hell or High Water was another very strong album. An album on which he sang a large number of duets with Iris DeMent. Fortunately, my impatient wait for a CD version was rewarded with this luxurious version. Only this CD version will be released with the bonus track Windows of Amsterdam . This time, legend Mary Gauthier and his life partner Jaimee Harris provide background vocals. The still quite young Harris made his debut three years ago with Red Rescue, one of my favorite albums of that year. A Malcolm album isn't really complete without veterans Dave Roe (bass) and Jared Tyler (guitar). Dave brought his son Jerry, who plays drums on most of the songs. Earlier this year, Jared and his new band Saugeye released their fantastic album of the same name, Saugeye . Ron de la Vega's beautiful cello can be heard in Lenora Cynthia . The other instruments are played by Miles McPherson. The great opener Money Trainimmediately sets the tone. It contains everything a Holcombe number needs. The characteristic, excellent guitar playing of Jared, excellent bass playing of Dave, soulful vocals and of course the passionate vocals of Malcolm. Also lyrically Malcolm is still driven and inspired. Perhaps the album's most socially engaged track is Your Kin , an indictment of Trump's then-disastrous refugee policy. Rules like : “not a chance in a man made hell, for a mother at the border wails, where's the heart in a white man's skin” speak for themselves. Fortunately, fragile health doesn't stop Malcolm from continuously releasing beautiful, driven albums like Tricks of the Trade . And also happy that passionate people like Joanna Serraris, Dutch lovers of his music gives them the opportunity to enjoy his live performances. The album was also superbly produced by Jared, Dave and Brian Brinkerhoff. Over the past decades, Malcolm has developed a completely authentic and unique sound, which I will now call Holcombicana. Malcolm delivers another strong album with Tricks of the Trade . Hopefully we'll see him back on stage here soon!  

Theo Volk

Release date : August 20, 2021 Need to Know

Website : https://www.malcolmholcombe.com