Glasgow’s Daniel Wylie has released his ninth studio album ‘Atoms and Energy’. Recorded at La Chunky Studios, it is released via Last Night From Glasgow. With help from Neil Sturgeon, Johnny Smillie, and Stu Kidd, Wylie attempts to follow the loud guitar splendour of 2017’s ‘Scenery For Dreamers’.
The album is available to buy at Last Night From Glasgow.
This time out, the Young and Blake guitars, for the most part, take a back seat as Wylie examines death and past relationships. ‘Heaven’s Waiting Room’ encapsulates Reiner’s ‘Stand By Me’ as he revisits his formative years and just how quickly they fade. A devastating melancholy permeates Wylie’s psyche as he sings ‘I try, I try to do things right / not everybody has their day’.
The darkness continues on ‘The Bruises and the Blood’. A tale of domestic violence and the helplessness of a friend. The imagery is brutal but, Wylie has an innate gift to release the tension with melody. The joy in the keys and the Beach Boys breakdown offset the heavy lyrics and tense bass licks.
The ability to juxtapose dark and light hits its peak on ‘A Memory’. Channelling the guitars of ‘Down By The River’ Wylie takes a soul at its lowest ebb and, frees it with the majesty of George Harrison. Layer upon layer of emotion builds and paints difficult images of a man in the darkness not knowing how to get out.
Despite the overarching grief and regret, on ‘Saddle up the Horses’, there comes a need release, an indicator that this soul searching has found itself and begins to enrich. Wylie takes himself to his childhood and dreams of being a cowboy hero. The acoustic guitars rain down like glitter whilst the electric guitars are filled with glee.
The move away from raucous guitars has given Wylie the space to let his emotions flow and toy with new ideas. From the Santana-inspired guitars of ‘God Is Nowhere’ or the sinister REM infused ‘Ruth the Truth’, he has proven his worth as a songwriter. It’s the album’s melody where its greatness lay. No matter the mood or subject, Wylie can pivot to a happier sonic and thus, allows each song to develop greater depth and value.