Rating : 3.75 / 5

Summary : A great debut – this is music with heart, in more ways than one.

Ken Campbell, from Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh, was a frustrated rock musician. In his own words he was ‘tired of seeing quality rock music playing second fiddle to chart-driven, designer pop’. Amen, brother! So he and a group of likeminded musicians took 3 years to complete Crooked Mouth’s debut album which he published on his own label, Moon Brothers Music.

Campbell admits to the influences of Genesis, ‘Tull Floyd, Rush and ‘Zeppelin, but you won’t hear much of those bands’ sounds on this album. The style is essentially neo-progressive rock – song oriented, fairly approachable, with a more-or-less the standard rock-band lineup and strong melodies. Nothing essentially new here, but it is very well executed and an all-round very pleasant listen. Crooked Mouth’s music is characterized by Campbell’s acoustic guitar and Kenny Haig’s gruff male vocals contrasted, by angelic female singing. You may find it somewhat reminiscent of Farpoint, at first listen. The Farpoint comparison is superficial, though, because the song structures and the underlying instrumentals are somewhat different.

Every song on the album is carefully crafted, nicely textured and pleasantly melodic. There are extended instrumental passages including simple but pleasing piano lines, a few phrases of flute, and that acoustic guitar – now strummed, now picked, often trading off against a simple but expressive lead guitar. It is all very laid back and easy on the ear and the female vocal harmonies of Lynne Campbell and Eilidh Swanson are imaginatively applied and extremely pleasant. The all-instrumental closing track “Last Call For Curtain Trips” is wonderful, with a slow lead guitar that tests the sustain capabilities of the instrument, an elegant piano and spacey keys, all played against the backdrop of a light, high-pitched acoustic guitar loop. You could be excused for playing that one track again and again.

Ken describes his music as “big-picture songs”. The topics explored are varied and the lyrics are sincere and poetic.

In another important step away from commercial music’s profit-driven approach to rock, Campbell donates a full 20% of the cover price to Sight Savers International. According to Sight Savers, 80% of blindness is preventable or treatable. They operate in Africa, the Indian sub-continent and a few spots in Central & South America, and apply their cash donations to three major programs: Prevention and education, eye care, and services for the blind.

Your purchase of Crooked Mouth’s self-titled debut won’t only be supporting a high-quality low-profile musician, you’ll also be bolstering an altogether bigger cause. But regardless of that aspect, you should buy it for the music. It is strong enough to stand on its own merits.