Wales’ Julian Pitt, aka Armstrong followed up his 2019 album ‘Under Blue Skies’ with ‘Happy Graffiti’ earlier this year. All songs were written, arranged, and produced by Armstrong in his living room in Newport and mastered by Phillip Shaw Bova. The album is available for purchase via The Beautiful Music and Bandcamp.
Artwork and Layout by Jamie Nordstrand
Armstrong’s previous offering was packed with instantaneous charm. Tracks like ‘Love, Hate, Passion, and War’, ‘Things That Pass You By’, and ‘Crazy World’ (among others) reeled you in with their Gram Parsons in Paris meets baroque pop splendour. On ‘Happy Graffiti’, the melody remains but there’s a more considered and studied approach to the songwriting allowing for a sense of timelessness to come alive.
‘Disinformation’ opens in a similar fashion to Ryan Adams’ haunting ‘Shiver and Shake’ before meandering back to the previous albums’ Parisian landscapes. It is the combination of festive keys, Bacharach, and Pitt’s Mick Head via Howie Payne vocal that takes his creative trajectory to another level.
‘Songbird’ and ‘Keep On Walking’ again build upon the previous album whilst pushing the envelope further. The former has a stunning fragility to the vocal delivery. Frosty, almost helpless at times, but never without love, Armstrong’s vocals are set to the cinematic orchestra which reaches out a hand to anyone not knowing which way to turn. ‘Keep On Walking’ however, Is blessed with the autumnal glow that Richard Hawley and I Am Kloot have perfected this century. The guitars of The Stands are illuminated by a smoky deep vocal in the early stages but, they progress to a joyous state of John Bramwell and Peter Hall. Defiance is always a great trait for songwriter, it’s blessed so many generations coming of age moments. To produce this feeling in middle age, especially lyrically, is a remarkable skill but Armstrong has it:
“Here me or not / When Destiny calls / This rickety life as it twists out of sight to the deep waterfall / Reasons allowed / Are shattered and torn / We live like we do through the rain and stars and the moon and the sun / but I don’t feel afraid / I’m just walking like a summers day”
The key change within this stanza is worthy of Liam Gallagher’s dreams and the Kraftwerk via van Morrison keys are simply divine.
There are moments when Armstrong forgoes the wiser songwriter status and slips back into great pop mode. ‘Rock Star Rock Star’ is the kind of sun-kissed rumble dreamers of alternate universe pictures The La’s making. The jaded Mick Head via the deep gravel of Badly Drawn Boy takes you on a journey of gentle rebellion. Whereas ‘When We Were young’ provides the album’s spriteliest moment with scintillating pianos, the Pale Fountains’ yearning for adventure, and the Lightning Seeds’ sense of bubble-gum glee.
If the above was all there was, there would be would nothing to complain about. There are, however, two moments of jaw-dropping awe to revel in also. ‘In A Memory’ is a sumptuous nod to the opening/closing verses of ‘A Day In The Life’, no mean feat, but Armstrong’s trip down memory lane enhances McCartney’s piano playing to an unrivalled poignancy in 2022. ‘This One’ is blessed with the self-belief of rock ‘n’ roll’s youthful ambition but to the sound of a sage presence out for a head-clearing walk amid the morning fog. The repetitive lyrics seem to suggest that, although the protagonist is aware of art’s cyclical nature, its intoxicating escapism will always be welcome.
Classic songwriting rarely collides with guts, heart, and pop music but, Armstrong has it all.