Author: Editor

You might think that you’ve heard the name of Andrew Cadie before and you’d be right. Andrew is half of German-based duo Broom Bezzums whose reputation has spread far and wide. Flooding The Ocean is his third solo album – his first was in 2006 but as well as being busy with the band he is also a producer – and it was well worth the wait. The songs are an intriguing blend of modern thinking combined with references to Andrew’s native Northumberland. There is even a cover of Jez Lowe’s ‘Galloways’ to emphasise the link.

The opening track, ‘Wherever I Wander Or Stray’, serves to demonstrate that folk-rock is still alive and kicking. Andrew combines the song with a tune, ‘Baker’s Lane Reel’ and it picks up speed after a relatively gentle start. A knockout track. ‘Pulse’ is about surviving winter – dancing and drink being the key ingredients while ‘Won’t Be Long’ tells of a different wanderer from the one in the first track – this guy is looking forward to getting back home.

The richness of the album may send you scurrying for the cast list but Andrew plays all fifteen listed instruments. There may be more depending how many guitars he has but the advantage of doing everything himself is clear. I reckon that everything turned out just the way he wanted.

‘The Blyth Trimmer’ is a delve into history, introduced and concluded by Andrew’s grandfather, who was such a man and one whose life encompassed both WWII and the miners’ strike. That gives pause for thought. Then it’s bang up to date with ‘The Monster’, a reaction to an Israeli attack on Gaza last year. I’ll refrain from comment. ‘Perpetual Motion’, which gives the album its title, seems to be an observation on the way we live now with particular emphasis on the internet and the isolation it brings. And while we’re considering modern life, ‘So Many Ways’ turns our attention on man’s inhumanity to man.

The title of ‘Off To The Workhouse’ suggests another story from history but the song is, in fact, a grim prediction of the peril we’re heading into. It’s a timely warning but I hope Andrew is wrong. Decline and decay are also the themes of the ironically titled ‘Dare To Dream’ and the pessimism continues with ‘Take Another Heart’. ‘Boulder’ takes the legend of Sisyphus as its inspiration and just before you reach for another drink, Andrew cheers up with ‘Keep Hauling’, another song blended with a tune and a message about not giving up.

Musically and lyrically, Flooding The Ocean is a superb album providing much food for thought. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Dai Jeffries

Artisr’s website: https://www.andrewcadie.de/

‘Wherever I Wander Or Stray’ – live and acoustic: