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Review • Roots • June 21, 2023
Malcolm Holcombe
Bits & Pieces
Written by: Cis van Looy Released by: Need To Know Music
In 2022 Malcolm Holcombe was diagnosed with cancer, with the uncertain future it was more urgent than ever to record new song work. Together with his loyal companion, the multi-instrumentalist Jared Tyler, a few songs were already recorded in the Echo Mountain Studios in North Carolina, later supplemented with additional work, the follow-up to Tricks of the Trade grew into the eighteenth work of the near Asheville resident troubadour.
Anyone who is somewhat familiar with Holcombe's repertoire knows that he is not exactly the most cheerful of Frans. The man has struggled with his demons for about half his life, a stubborn alcohol addiction depression,.. and now cancer but he is a survivor who fights back. His guitar and razor-sharp lyrics that well up from scratchy, rattling vocals are the weapons. A not insignificant role is reserved for Jared Tyler. As always, he manifests himself as an excellent accompanist, in addition to percussion, he instinctively adds nuanced accents with his extensive string arsenal to the idiosyncratic repertoire that cuts deeper than ever.
That is immediately clear in the driven title track. “People talk about losin' runnin round in circles wonder who's listenin' and prayin' for mercy”, is entrusted to us in the taunting strings Fill Those Shoes .
After a seemingly less gloomy bluegrass picker Hard Luck City, we come with The Wind Doesn't Know You to something that is described by insiders close to Holcombe as 'Malcolmisms'. The often merciless confrontation with his living environment and accompanying conscientious observations, “It's an everyday battle wakin' up in the mornin' with the rattle and the hustles of the card and the warnin' of the measure of the clock tickin' forward”
Biting, warning comments in Happy Wonderland “ you gotta butter your bread on the right side, don't wistle at the women'round here, that corn fed bible belt mama's gotta skillet made for yoyur head. It continues like this with dark folk on acoustic picking up to the conjuring closing track Bring To Fly.
Malcolm Holcombe impresses more than ever with gloomy reflections that sound more intense with every listen. With postponed concerts in the tour agenda, doubts creep in, hopefully his health will still evolve favorably so that he can tell his poignant stories on stage. climbing from the dust I swallowed behind. …Great spirit lift me from despair
Malcolm Holcombe 's album Bits & Pieces has been released by Need To Know Music on June 23, 2023.
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