Trevor Alguire – Now Before Us
by Janet Goodman - Music News Nashville
The power to move the listener is the kind of power trip that singer/songwriter Trevor Alguire is on these days. The Ontario, Canada native will be releasing his third solo album late this summer, “Now Before Us” – a 12-track Americana collection of compelling self-penned tunes with thoughtful lyrics, vintage-feel musicianship and warm contemporary vocals with high-lonesome Appalachian harmonies. Self-produced along with Jason Jaknunas, this organic mixing of elements results in a record of depth and breath found in few artists on the current music scene.
Twangy dobro and acoustic guitar back Alguire’s upbeat story of hanging in there, “Hold On”: “I’m just a photograph that’s here on the shelf/Dust covered memory left here by itself/Left to tell you how much I miss you”. “Pen a Man Down” is a mandolin-driven, bluegrass romp making a social commentary that starts at the end of the story and rolls back in time to explain why a man is behind bars: “Poor boy in prison at the age of 22/Rich get richer while the poor pay their dues/And it takes time to pen a man down/Said boy you’re good for nothing and you’re only 14/I’ve seen a lot but you’re the worst I’ve ever seen/And it takes time to pen a man down/It takes time to pen a man down/Let’s go back a little further now to see the damage done/Just try to raise a family with your daddy on the run”.
Vibrant supporting vocals by Joss Stone sound-alike Kelly Prescott are happily everywhere on Alguire’s album, as on the sparing and slow, south-of-the-border waltz, “What Lies”. The larger than life, cinematic feel of alternative country “Drift Away” is a fine example of how his mood pieces shine through on this project. His throaty vocals are reminiscent of country’s Dierks Bentley, and Alguire bites into his juicy sonic-lush lyric: “So blind I can’t quite figure/Figure out what I can’t quite see/Lost piece trying to puzzle it together/Trying to figure where we all should be”.
In “Ditch By the Road”, he adeptly uses a car wreck metaphor to tell the story of a bad break-up, reliving the event in slow motion. Alguire’s vignettes stream along roots rock music tracks that could find their way to radio, and will most certainly be embraced by old and new fans alike.
For more on this artist, visit www.trevoralguire.com
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