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Reviewed by Sammy Jay Dawson

Man From Atlanta: Flood Of Tears

Reviewed by Sammy Jay Dawson

Man From Atlanta: Flood Of Tears

Ex-Sushi Lovers Allan Innes-Walker (guitar/vocals) and Ilmar Taimre (bass/keyboards) team up for the fifth time as Man From Atlanta. Opener Sweet Crying Baby buzzes into the eardrums riding atop a wave of distortion, reminiscent of ’80s R.E.M, before mellowing into a southern rock Radiohead.  Nowhere Fast brings us back to Man From Atlanta of old – Old Timey folk tunes with a contemporary sensibility and accessibility.  ‘Flood Of Tears’ closer Shut Me Down seems to be the culmination of Man From Atlanta’s sound to date, pulling together their knack for dramatic, moody textures, unsettling build-ups like something Tom Waits might have cooked up, minus the dumpster diving. Laden with pop hooks and blues guitar freak outs, its five tracks run seamlessly yet cover a vast array of moods, quite the feat for 18 minutes run time. Sadly one does await another track that, never really comes… It all feels a bit too brief, and that’s little to do with the runtime. ‘Flood Of Tears’ constantly feels as though it’s building to something that never quite shows up. Perhaps that’s part of the appeal, the constant drama with no resolution could be a deliberate assessment of our modern culture – but we’re probably just overthinking things. Just as an answer seems within grasp ‘Floods Of Tears’ takes a left turn, which is more often than not a good thing. And although the record begs for repeated listens, one can’t help but shake the thought of what Man From Atlanta could achieve in a 30 minute run time