Former Cheshire poet laureate turned singer-songwriter, John Lindley, will be appearing at Congleton Library on Monday for the launch of his sophomore album Trickery, Thieves and Luck.
Pieced together with musician friends and producer John Miller during the lockdown, the eclectic record features “monsters and mummies, bullets and B movies, the familiar and the freakish” ( writes Andy Stubbs).
The sold-out event will be less a straightforward launch and more a presentation encompassing insight, music and film. Mr Lindley hopes the night will “provide an entertaining look at how we went into a lockdown and came out with an album!”
The sinister This Is A Dark Ride deserves special attention. At under three minutes not a wasted word is used for this ghostly rocker, written in the style of a popular classic. The opening line: “Do you wanna talk about that tipping point when life tips into death” drags the listener into a macabre tease of a tune built around minor chords in single verse format. The imagery used is vivid and chilling as risk hovers over every line.
In the presence of the Grim Reaper “the figure with the scythe who lurks behind” plus ghosts, ghouls and witches, Lindley’s decorated poetic force is a supernatural snare for the listener. Not unlike Lou Reed lyrics at their malignant best; imagine the crusty baritone of late period Johnny Cash for a sense of this wonderful song as a superstar alternate version.
Those who buy Trickery, Thieves and Luck can expect stop-offs at country, folk rock, funk, rap and 80s genres over the record’s duration, populated by a range of colourful characters and events historic to the present day.
All profits from sales of the Trickery, Thieves and Luck CD are being donated to MacMillan Cancer Support. The CD can be obtained for £10 + £1.23pp by emailing j.lindley1@sky.com with an address and details will be given about the various payment options.
Covid restrictions will be in place at the library, with tickets currently sold out.
