‘Brink’ by Eden Burning

After a number of years slogging across the country playing small gigs and releasing well received but low selling albums, ‘Brink’ was Eden Burning’s last throw of the dice. I wasn’t following them at the time, and there’s very little stuff online to fill in the gaps, but it’s hard not to listen to it and see it as one final attempt to crack a mainstream market. ‘Brink’ is less of an acoustic-folk album than their previous albums, and has more of an indie-rock sound instead. Electric guitar features more heavily, mandolins less so.

That said, there’s enough of the band’s style running through it for it to not feel like an anomaly. ‘Deep Blue Sea’ opens the album in a squall of harmonica and vocal harmony. It may be a relatively simple track, musically and lyrically, but it’s a punchy and catchy start. Through ‘Movers and Shakers’, ‘Stories’ and ‘Almost Spent’, the band revert slightly to type – more delicate, acoustic songs, though this is no bad thing. Paul Northup is, as ever, a fine singer, and a superb lyricist. Throughout this album, as with other Eden Burning albums, he weaves his faith deftly through his lyrics without sounding preachy or obvious.

There are some weaker moments later on. ‘Another Country’, ‘With A Kiss’ and ‘Western Eyes’ are all stabs at a rock sound that never quite convinces. The final track, however, is a glorious way to finish a recording career. ‘Let Me Lose’ is simply structured, but beautifully recorded and performed – a true song of worship which could be enjoyed by more or less anyone.