The Furious Seasons - Look West (Album Release)

The Furious Seasons - Longshot.

Background bio - The Furious Seasons "look west" biography "David Steinhart's been a perennial cottage industry goldmine for those who carry torches for soft, finely crafted, windswept pop. David writes and sings warm, literate, sober, preoccupied folk pop, always well-crafted..." Jack Rabid/The Big Takeover "David is still one of my nominations for best relationship lyricist, but he's become one of the rare ones to let adulthood and marriage inform songs that would previously have capitalised on failure and youth." The War Against Silence

The Furious Seasons' 5th release, "look west" is a perfect departure from last years lush and orchestrated "My Love is Strong".  With "look west" David Steinhart's penchant for catchy melodies and story line lyrics are still firmly intact but this time they are tackled by an acoustic trio that highlights the stories and creates a warmth that David and his brother Jeff haven't achieved since the early days of their mid 80's band Pop Art.  Jeff Steinhart plays a stand up bass for the first time in his career and guitarist Paul Nelson's agile solo's and harmonies helps "look west" create a sound all it's own.  Not folk in the traditional sense, the folk/pop album soars with deep personal stories and melodies that will stay with you for long stretches.

This is Steinhart's 21st album in total and although his previous bands Pop Art and Smart Brown Handbag often dabbled in acoustic presentations, this is the first album to go all in on the concept. The album concept was born out of months of 3 piece shows played in Southern California, including shows in support of John Hiatt, David Lindley and A.J. Croce. Scott Campbell recorded a few of the tracks live in a home studio in Hollywood set up for Shelby Lynne. Tim Boland at White Light Studios in North Hollywood recorded the lion share of the album.

On "My Terrible Song" Steinhart sings about wanting something so badly that you lose track of what's important in the process. On Summer Flame Steinhart writes about the passage of time while looking back on opportunities missed.  "You were a summer flame/ so blue and warm and deep/ wishes and whims I had that have drifted off to sleep/ were light and alive while you were mine to keep/ when the sun was still on my face." The mood lightens on "Sadly Matched" a song about a man who loves Los Angeles so much that he's willing to let his dream girl move away without him. "Now your memory plays like a movie with a melancholy end/ and I play the part of the villain with a stance I can't defend/ but as I look to the future on this Christmas day/ it's 80 degrees here on the beach and I think I'll be ok. "look west" is like those beautiful Los Angeles days, warm, breezy and imbued with California feeling.

'Longshot' encapsulates the overall craftsmanship and creativity that has gone into the bands fifth release (and David Steinhart's twenty first album) 'Look West'. The album was released last month, so apologies for the delay, this work is however, way to good to overlook. Iv'e included the full promo piece above for two reasons. First of all it's a very honest representation of the album, and secondly, it's written considerably better than I could put it. For those unfamiliar with The Furious Seasons and to help position them it's worth mentioning, that they are playing with Donovan for his Sunshine Superman Tour at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills on October 8, 2016.  They've also recently opened for John Hiatt, David Lindley and A.J. Croce. For me this a collection of adorable songs, delivered with sensitivity, the music is first class as are the wonderful lyrics and their superbly matched delivery.

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