Follow The Sun
Fallingfoot Records (2025)
Follow The Sun is acoustic guitarist David Lindsay's sixth album and I have praised four of his previous five recordings. He has become one of my favorite guitar instrumentalists. However, Follow The Sun is a marked departure from his previous work for a few reasons, some of them factual and at least one subjective. This is his first release not recorded at Imaginary Road Studios and produced by Will Ackerman. Also, the "usual suspects of Imaginary Road" guest artists (all of whom were prominently featured on his earlier releases) have been whittled down to one, that'd be Premik Russell Tubbs on lyricon (wind synthesizer). Gary Honess provides programming. In addition, Lindsay has added electric guitar and bass to his repertoire for his album.
The subjective difference, to my ears at least, is that the music on Follow The Sun is considerably more somber than his five earlier albums. Of course, that's a comparative comment since Lindsay's music has been almost universally laid back and mellow in nature. However, here, the mood is sometimes mournful and suffused with deep melancholy, evocative perhaps of recalling sad memories. At the very least, I find it much more introspective than his earlier music. Admittedly, Lindsay's work has always been reflective or contemplative in nature, starting with his debut, Nightbound. The mood there and on successive albums was usually autumnal in nature. However, Follow The Sun's music is just as beautiful and memorable as all his previous works, perhaps even more so. While I personally find these songs to be, shall we say, for the most part, more downcast, others may view them as merely an evolution of his previous moods and motifs.
Not all the songs here depart drastically, e.g., "Stepping Stones," but even here, the absence of other artists (for example Jill Haley, Charlie Bisharat, Noah Wilding, all of whom appear on Lindsay, 2024 release With You) does impart a feeling of, well, if not isolation or loneliness, perhaps a sparser sensation, as if Lindsay is playing by himself in front of a slowly dying fire in the hearth. "Open Air" is another tune that does veer into a warmer and more inviting atmosphere.
Frankly, I am thrilled at this new direction that Lindsay has taken with his music. Again, fans of his previous albums should be advised that this may not be heard as marked a departure as it was for me, except for the absence of accompanying artists (with the exception of Tubbs). The production and engineering (see credits) is the equal to what Imaginary Road provided, which is no knock on the crew there whatsoever, but this album has no sonic flaws that I can discern. Follow The Sun is a great soundtrack to gray days (I know…the title suggests otherwise) when one wants to be alone with one's thoughts. Of course, I tend to be a more morose person than some of my other reviewer comrades, so make of that what you will. Summing up, Follow The Sun solidifies David Lindsay's standing among my favorite guitarists recording today.
ALBUM CREDITS
All compositions by David Lindsay
Produced
by David Lindsay and Gary Honess
Recorded and mixed by Gary Honess at Kuhl
Muzik, Toronto, Canada
Additional engineering by Mateo Palmisano
Assistant engineer:
Andrea Anger
Mastered by The SoundLab™
at Disc Makers
David Lindsay: Classical acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
Premik Russell Tubbs: Lyricon (wind synthesizer)
Gary Honess: Programming
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