Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Andrew Swift, ABC Music/Universal Music 2021.
I know very little about Andrew Swift other than that he’s an Australian country singer/songwriter and that he’s highly regarded in country music circles.
The Art of Letting Go is my introduction to Andrew’s work and I’m impressed by what I hear.
Andrew mostly falls into the rock sector of county; he’s got a good voice that presents his songs well and he’s put together a tight backing band for the recording.
As the album title intimates the songs are mostly about the complexities of love, from falling in love with a dream in Head Full Of Honey or the wrong person such as in Courting Calamity or Never Meant To Break Your Heart.
The title track is particularly strong as it examines the process of getting over the loss of a deep love affair. He sings “there’s no beauty in the art of letting go” to which I can attest.
The twelve tracks on the disc traverse love from the first heady days to conclusions and each is a strong radio friendly track.
Andrew includes ballads as well as country rock, One Breath At A Time builds throughout to involve gospel like aspects particularly in the use of chorus.
Of course, being a country album there’s the obligatory song about getting drunk, or in this case high. (I don’t know why this topic is such a preoccupation for country musicians).
She Loves To Get High explores the difference between poisons, his alcohol compared to her drugs.
Apparently her choice of narcotic is enough to stop them falling in love.
While the songs are good and the performances strong I found myself hoping for a change of topic by two thirds of the way through the album.
Maybe I’m being a little harsh here, after all love has been the main topic of pop, rock, and country music for an eternity.
I possibly spent a little too much time concentrating on the lyrics rather than taking in the whole package.
Musically Andrew Swift is very good and I feel that his best songs are the slower ones.
Taking The Blame is a song about a breakup sung from the point of view of the party who is sick and tired of “always taking the blame.”
Experience tells me that it is rarely one-sided.
The final track Holding My Tongue explores similar territory.
This album, while a good listen, could double up for therapy if you’re going through similar relationship troubles, and it’d be a lot cheaper.
