Lorna Brooks – Since Life Stood Still (Album Review)

Since Life Stood Still is the latest album by Lorna Brooks, a Scottish singer and multi-instrumentalist. Her press material talks about her being ‘celebrated for her rich, bluesy, and jazz-infused voice’. It doesn’t stop there: it also talks about her ‘having the kind of voice you want to spend the rest of your life with’. If that’s boastful, at least I have the chance to put these claims to the test.

For an artist who, according to her press material, has been compared to greats like Joan Armatrading’, perhaps that claim can hold true if I put it to some kind of a test.

So here goes. ‘I thought I Knew You Before’ is the album’s first song. Some quick-spirited guitar start us on the song. The singer’s voice is worth commenting on. When she delivers her first vocals, which at some point I find angelic, they are clean and clear. You hear them go, ‘I thought I knew you before’. And then she goes, as if starting again, but going in a different direction, ‘I thought I knew that. Now I’m not so sure’.

I’m all for clear vocals and lyrics. And at least on her first two lines or so, Lorna Brooks is clear. Lyrical, I think it’s self-explanatory in a way: we meet a character who thought they knew, realizing that actually they didn’t. This happens in relationships. They thought they were bulletproof, but time proved the otherwise.

In terms of instrumentals, Lorna Brooks covers many grounds, playing this instrument and that instrument. That way, her song stays dynamic. But if there’s one instrument that speaks to me, it’s the instrument I take to be the violin. It gives this almost piercing, if not bluesy sound. It’s a sound that if perhaps you listen to a lot, you might cry. And I think it’s a good thing that Lorna Brooks doesn’t overdo it, but even if she had overdone it, I don’t think I’d have a problem. For, what are the blues if they are not there to remind you that life is not all about the sweet and the good?

‘Ten Long Years’ follows. Lorna Brooks here is quick to get into her vocals. She starts when the song starts. We hear her sing, ‘Ten long years since she walked the road of angels’. And, just like on the previous song, after her first line, she goes as if she’s starting again, but then goes into a different direction. We hear her now sing, ‘Ten long years since life stood still’. Then her vocal delivery changes, half singing and half speaking. At some point, however, I feel there’s some strain in her vocals.  Instrumentation is understated here, save for the bass. Lyrically, it’s also a song of encouragement, about dusting oneself up. There’s some hypnotic, if not ethereal, backing vocals as well.

Up next comes ‘Claim The Night’. Here the minimalist instrumentation is allowed to take some time before the introduction of vocals. There’s a touch of drums or percussion, and at some point, some horn instrument is introduced, giving the song a meditative feel to it. I find this impressive – sure her vocals early on in the song are laid back, but the horn also gives this feel. But her vocals quicken sometime afterwards. Lyrically, this is a song about biding one’s time, claiming the night, and taking time to breathe.

Upbeat drums and horns start us on ‘Cold Denial’. This vibey tempo is in stark contrast to some darkish atmosphere Lorna Brooks created in the previous song. It’s a song you dance to – ironic for a song with a title with the words with ‘cold denial’.  Her vocals are also dynamic here. But if the violin sound I thought I heard in the first track sounded nice, here I’m impressed by the horns, to say nothing of the upbeat dreams. Lyrically, we hear the lyrical persona dare someone to look them in the eye and tell them one more lie. That’s cynical, isn’t it? Perhaps a sour dose of realism!

Instrumentally, ‘Losing My Way’ goes in a different direction from the songs we’ve heard before. We get the piano and melancholic sound. Vocal-wise, Lorna Brooks is aloof but angelic here. She’s singing – perhaps more for herself than the listener. Be that as it may, you can enjoy this song for the singing or voice alone. It’s one of the remarkable songs on the album. Drums do come in, taking over from the piano. ‘I was looosing’, Lorna Brooks sings, ‘Looosing my way’ – a saxophone taking over, the violin from the earlier track coming in. 

‘Dawns a New Day’ is started off with guitar and piano. For every heart broken, dawns a new day, we hear. Again her voice is angelic, although she speeds up her delivery now and then. This is a song that pulls you in and out.

I like the kick that starts off ‘After The Fire’. It makes one anticipate something they’re familiar with but might not get. For a second, the kick makes me think it’s gonna be a Hip Hop song, but it’s just my imagination, or wishful thinking, running away with me. What you get, though, is this angelic, if not raised, voice by Lorna Brooks. Here, you get clean vocals. She sings, ‘After the fire, there was only me and you’. Vocally and lyrically, this is a beautiful song. You can almost hear every word that Lorna Brooks sings. These are my kinda songs. It’s not the lyrics or the voice you really appreciate, but the fact that you can hear what’s being said. Such delivery speaks to a listener’s heart, if not mind. On this song, Lorna Brooks manages to get you into her character’s world, where you almost see them – and the person they were with after the fire. Just the two of them. You’re an observer there. You see the rain. You see the character watch the other person walk away. Realistic to the point of almost cutting to the bone – figuratively, that is.

It’s a soft song, but it quickens at some point. I like the softer parts. It’s one of those songs you wish Lorna Brooks wasn’t so dynamic so as not to change from the part you love.

‘Everybody Here Wants You’ is a piano song. From her voice here, the lyrical persona Lorna Brooks has created here is downcast.  Perhaps this is warranted by the song’s topic. Half singing and half talking, our persona poetically describes their lover. In a soaring voice, she sings, ‘I’m only here for this moment’, later on going like, ‘I know everybody here thinks they need you’. The vocals here are commendable also – but not as on ‘After The Fire’.

‘Soothe Me’ starts with a continuous kick and guitar. As the song progresses, it is carried by percussion and this heavy kick. At some point, Lorna Brooks just let the instrumentation play, a distorted sound also playing. However, the song’s core is the question our character asks: who’s gonna soothe, and not confuse them? At over five minutes, this is a lengthy song – that after all the instruments we’ve talked about, you still get the saxophone to end the song. Our lyrical persona asks who’s gonna soothe them. The musician’s voice here commands attention.

‘I don’t know’, ‘I don’t know’, ‘I don’t know’ – Lorna Brooks repeats on ‘Trust In You’. The song’s lyrical personal wants to know why the other person keeps fooling around. From what I hear, the other person does not trust in themselves, a thing they’re told to fix. A soulful guitar and drum make up the song’s instrumentation, the saxophone appearing briefly.     

Up next is ‘We Send Ships Dear’. The song starts with guitar strings. You later get the piano, and then a sad saxophone as well. Lorna Brooks is poetic on this one, singing of ships and sailing into the sunset – sailing to an unnamed lover. 

‘Do It’ closes off the album. Lorna Brooks comes off as too direct here. It feels to me that she’s directly addressing the listener. Repetition also comes through on the song. ‘Talking’, ‘Talking, ‘Talk’ – ‘nothing happens’, she sings. This is all okay, but when she starts singing that ‘it’s time to make a change…’ ‘to open our eyes’, I feel she’s being preachy.  Now, my question is: shouldn’t she be preachy? Although her lyrical personas offer words of encouragement here and there, I feel ‘Do It’ is the odd track here. I want to enjoy her singing, not ‘preaching’.

SCORE/Outstanding: This is an outstanding album. I love musicians who sing. Of course, all musicians sing, but I feel there are musicians who you can withstand even if they were to turn off the instruments and sing a cappella. I believe Lorna Brooks is one of those musicians. She probably places high value on her voice. This is probably true for all musicians, but to that claim that you would want to listen to her voice for the rest of your life, my take is that at least I want to listen to her for the whole album, except perhaps when she’s preaching like on ‘Do It’. But then again, it’s good that she’s made a preachy song like this. At the end of the day, some music doesn’t have to be please the listener. This is perhaps me eating my cake and having it, but I know there have been times I have hated a song only to love it later. Whatever way, an album that not only pleases the ear but also makes you think is a good one in my books. Well done, Lorna!     

Follow Lorna Brooks on:
Facebook
Instagram
Visit Website