Short Reviews [John Holden - 2025 - "The Great Divide"]

Somehow, I missed out on the last two albums by John, and having loved the first three it is great to be in contact again. John provides guitars, bass, keyboards, drum production and vocals, and he has yet again brought in some guests to help on out on tracks here and there. This includes Peter Jones (does the man ever sleep? He is everywhere these days, what a talent), Sertari (a new name to me, but what an incredible singer she is) and Iain Hornal on vocals, Luke Machin and Michel St-Pere guesting on guitars on a track each, with Jon Poole adding bass to another. Looking back on my previous reviews I see I have given John maximum points each time, and I find it difficult to view this in any other manner as it is an absolute delight throughout. Like Dave Bainbridge he is a multi-instrumentalist who refuses to be pigeonholed into any particular musical area, and while he will always be viewed as progressive, he is blending together multiple influences from different styles to create something which is wonderfully whole and complete yet varies quite dramatically between songs. Powerful melodies and lyrics are always the order of the day, and while there are plenty of pop sensibilities these are in the classic sense as opposed to the autotuned pap which apparently is popular music today, and the use of different singers helps bring these arrangements to life. This is a relaxing album, in that one just puts it on and immediately settles down with a smile, as it is a delight from beginning to end, warm and inviting yet full of depths which only become apparent the more it is played. But just because it feels that way, do not think this is a light piece of work as it has been carefully constructed. The booklet details the thought process behind the recording (the album was inspired by Art Nouveau), and while it contains the lyrics it also describes the full meaning behind each song. "Leaf and Blade", for example, is about the struggles being felt by Canada and Mexico due to the narcissist orange goblin sat in the White House. We can move from rock to singer songwriter, folk and country, all imbibed with John's melodies and arrangements, and the result is yet another album full of wonders.