Artist – Windmill
Album – A Different Door
Released – 5th April 2019
Reviewer – Allan Cairns, Liverpool Acoustic
The new album from Windmill was written by three of the four band members and is three years in the making. Mick Dolan took the name of the album – A Different Door – from a quote by Syd Barrett (Mick is a big fan) in reply to a question from his mother. Windmill’s first album Wanderlust was a brilliant piece of music, so no pressure guys!
The band is made up of Mick Dolan, Dawn Williams, David T Palmer and Amanda Roxanne. The album features guest artists Peter Banning on trumpet (for the song Daylight), Andy Diagram from James on trumpet (for Hey) and Phil Melville of The Springtime Anchorage on guitar and lap steel slide guitar. Mick and Dawn take it in turns with lead vocals with Amanda adding harmonies and layers to the vocals.
[divider] [/divider]
The opening track Best Days starts off strongly with strumming guitars and tambourine then Dawns voice starts and it doesn’t feel like three years since the last album. Dawn is then joined by Amanda on vocals. This track is about what the day would be like if you could pick everything in it!
Drift is the first of Mick Dolan’s compositions that also features Phil Melville on the lap steel. It’s been described as ‘ethereal folky pop’ by some and compared to Within Temptation. When we read of the bands who influenced them with the likes of Joan Baez, Angus and Julia Stone, Neil Young, Beck, Brian Wilson, Leonard Cohen and Velvet Underground we see such a wide spread of styles and genres.
[divider] [/divider]
Mick takes up lead vocals on his next song Hey. It starts with Andy Diagram on trumpet before blending both guitar and the lap steel slide to great effect.
Lipstick Blue is the first from the pen of David Palmer but I think you would be hard pressed at times to be able to pick out who wrote what. I noted on the last album that they are such a closely meshed band and now three years later the music they are producing is just as much a pleasure to listen to.
Passers By, again by Mick, is such a fully layered song both vocally and instrumentally. I think there is everything here but the kitchen sink. I lost count of the instruments being played.
[divider] [/divider]
I was going to say the album closes with Home but closes is the wrong word because – trust me – you will have this on repeat!
I am looking forward hearing A Different Door being played live. It has already had a spin on local radio on the Chris Currie show, the Phil Meek show and Northern Quarter Radio. Have a listen give your ears a treat – you know they deserve it.
Allan Cairns
Review © 2019 Allan Cairns, Liverpool Acoustic
[divider] [/divider]
A Different Door was released April 5th 2019 on Velvet Records and is available to buy from all good online stores including Spotify, iTunes and Amazon where you can also get the first album Wanderlust.
[divider] [/divider]
Windmill
Facebook – facebook.com/windmill2014
[divider] [/divider]