Paul Kelly
Spring and Fall
Release Date: Nov 6, 2012
Genre(s): Country, Americana, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Country-Rock, Roots Rock, Contemporary Country, Neo-Traditionalist Country
Record label: Gawdaggie
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Album Review: Spring and Fall by Paul Kelly
Great, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 4
Aussie heavyweight songster Paul Kelly returns, guitar in hand, with his 19th album Spring And Fall. After a five-year break, time has afforded the acclaimed Australia’s Bob Dylan the chance to take stock, and bring something refreshing to the – these days all too dispensable – album format. Spring And Fall tells the tale of the once exciting, now wilted love, through a Neil Finn-esque musical lens.
Based on rating 8/10
Spring and Fall are not merely seasons providing the bookends for Paul Kelly's 2012 song cycle, but mirrors of the emotions of falling in and out of love. And that is Kelly's subject on Spring and Fall, his first album in five years and an understated, delicate work that doesn't demand attention so much as require it. Kelly's songs aren't difficult to parse but they're quiet, drawing a listener into his swaying chords and lilting melodies.
Based on rating 3/5
Australia’s most acclaimed singer/songwriter has gone five years without a new studio release, so this short but sweet set—his 19th!- arrives with a fair degree of built-in anticipation. Kelly, perhaps inspired by his work as a book author during his time off from songwriting, has crafted an acoustic song cycle about the beginning and end of a relationship. The tunes are compact, lovely and move the story forward from the first person perspective of the protagonist, but the lack of upbeat material, and a rhythm section, leaves this as a noble but somewhat bland experiment far removed from the crackling folk rock of Kelly’s earlier days.
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