James Waudby’s On The Ballast Mast is a striking revelation in fingerstyle guitar. Fans of ’70s UK folk music will immediately recognize the greatness that lies within this LP.
Hailing from the coastline of eastern Yorkshire, Waudby might be a new artist for many, but I am sure he’ll soon be a household name for us all.
This album features the English musician playing totally unaccompanied, so his skillful fingerpicking and crisp vocals shine brightly here. The songs come alive thanks to Waudby’s effortlessly fluid guitar lines, which glide as smooth and free as spider silk caught on a soft breeze. The tones that come out of his instrument are warm and bell-like, and sometimes they can even glimmer. You can tell that he is so bonded to his instrument, it has become an extension of his own voice.
There is a hushed passion that fills each word that Waudby sings, and this delivery allows his introspective and poetic lyrics to leave an indelible impression on the listener. It’s like he fills each song with the wistful sighs of a chilly autumn evening.
If you count yourself a fan of the lyrical fingerpicking of guitarists like Bert Jansch and Michael Chapman, as well as the rural folk of Alasdair Roberts, then this is an album you need in your life. Click here to get your copy on vinyl, CD and digital today.
-KH
Record Crates United 