'One' - John Chisholm's powerful understatement

‘One’ by Lost Moons is a set of clever melodic songs with a deceptively serious lyrical message. Initial listening could lead to this being filed under middle-aged white singer songwriter schtick. And John (‘Lost Moons’) Chisholm could still be so siloed. But, like US singer songwriter Mark Kozelek, who like John sometimes trades under a band name, Chisholm uses melodic musical sparseness as a deceptive juxtaposition for emotionally and socially, even sometimes politically, intelligent observation. 

John Chisholm has deployed on his latest album a band of subtle but effective accompanists, of which he’s one himself on the drum tracks, but this is essentially his gig. His is the quintessentially English but international take on the modern song form; his is the understated but paradoxically powerful emotion. At this 'beyond the music' level I was reminded of Van Morrison: literalistically because one of the track titles is ‘Avalon Fields’, but also in the way that sweet melody and sparseness can take you somewhere beyond the song. Chris Rea came to mind on the first listen (e.g 'Bordeaux Post'), due mainly to John’s sung-spoken style of delivery, but also in this album's wry journeyman vibe. Some of the music though betrays John’s cooler musical interests, and specifically his (and Al, the lead guitarist’s) obvious enthusiasm for post-punk guitar literacy – and some album title references - of the 1980s. Along too with John’s simple but effective song form, is a surprisingly effective use of samples that introduce many of the tracks – some suggesting political upheaval (e.g. 'Euphoria') or pain, or both. 

I have listened to ‘One’ a half dozen times and every time is different but always good. That isn’t something I have written or felt for a long time.