6. David Ford – Charge

When I had my ill-fated romp through Virgin Megastore, as I described in my last post, I also  bought a record by David Ford. I discovered his music in 2008 after graduating college and becoming a bit depressed because I’d moved back in with my parents and didn’t feel like things were going as they should. Through one song, I felt better.

Since then he’s been putting out great, horrifically underrated music. I recommend him to my friends. I push people to see him live. Have you seen him live? If not, go! He often utilizes a loop pedal that can increase the drama of his songs. On the album, everything is its absolute best version, but to see a song build before your eyes, possibly going wrong, is a transcendent process.

I guess I should describe the music. It’s whatever the hell it wants to be: acoustic, piano, rock, folk, whatever. Earnest, informative, barbed, and clever. This album is a bit less political than his previous output, but where can you go when you’ve already done a sour love ballad to Margaret Thatcher? One of my few gig regrets about 2013 is that I missed out on seeing David play with a full band when he did two shows in New York City. I saw the first and delighted in every minute (as, oddly, I sat next to his lovely parents), but between that night and the next, I managed to acquire a fever over 100 degrees and spent a couple of days in bed, mourning my bad luck. So give this a listen and have many regrets for not seeing him on tour. Unless you did, in which case, I salute you.