https://listeningthroughthelens.com/2023/06/02/albums-of-the-month-may-2023-2/
Via IVPR Nashville
Malcolm Holcombe
Bits & Pieces
Need To Know
23 June 2023
I was very taken by the previous full-length release from Malcolm Holcombe – 2021’s Tricks Of The Trade (read the review).
Since then he was diagnosed with cancer, so he decided, with long-time confidant Jared Tyler, to get these songs recorded with just the two of them involved (plus co-producer Brian Brinkerhoff), without knowing what the future would bring (thankfully, he has been later cleared of the disease).
There’s an urgency and underlying clarity with Bits & Pieces, Holcombe’s eighteenth album, replete with that trademark rough-hewn voice, the insistent finger picking and the brilliantly phrased observations – eg “People get murdered for no reason / Some give up their lives so others keep breathin’.” – “Fill These Shoes”.
If you’re seeking music that’s edgy, with well-worn stories from an adept old hand who’s been around the block more than a few times, look no further.
