Maybe it’s just me, but with This Is Steve, the latest album from Delicate Steve, it just feels like something isn’t quite right. I always have a soft spot for instrumental albums because there’s so many bands out there doing great things at the moment, but this doesn’t quite ring true with This Is Steve.
Possibly I’ve just missed the point of it, but after several listens and struggling to connect with it every time round, it’s perhaps safe to say that this is just not my ‘thing’. This Is Steve is all very big and in-your-face, and at times it can be a little overwhelming.
Indeed, it’s like Delicate Steve is over-compensating for there being no vocals; as if trying to prove a point that the album doesn’t necessarily need vocals to progress, but what has happened is that the balanace isn’t right. The lead instrumental lines overpower the instrumentation beneath them and subsequently fade into the background, which isn’t what you want from an instrumental album. Of course it’s important to feature solo-work in order to divide tracks up, but This Is Steve is just one long solo and it’s grating as a result.
I don’t want to write this album off – especially after looking how highly anticipated the album is on Delicate Steve’s facebook, and also having seen several glowing reviews of it. Hopefully it’s just me.
4/10
