Short Reviews [Peter Lawson - 2023 - "10 of Swords"]

The last time I came across multi-instrumentalist Peter Lawson was when he sent me three albums he had released as Venus Loon, and I must confess I do not know why this has been released as a solo album as opposed to the group name, as I am sure it would have fitted under that canon as well. Hailing from Manchester, Peter has been a member of numerous bands and projects over the years as both a guitarist and vocalist, and I am not sure if he provides the drums on this or if he has again been joined by Wolfgang Ostermann from Frequency Drift, but he did make a point of telling me it has real drums! The highlight of this album are the wonderful guitars which Peter layers and uses to great effect. While combining progressive, space and psychedelic rock it is important to note that Peter understands the need for the guitars to be at the forefront, and there are some wonderfully distorted and phased sounds being utilised throughout. At times it is quite Oldfield in its approach, especially on the likes of “Nox Rubra”, and although Peter is also a singer he tends to keep his vocals quite sparing and let the guitars do the work for him. One does tend to understand this is a solo album as opposed to a band release, but never in a bad way, rather there is one person working to ensure what we are being given is a solid album as opposed to something based on ego. The album title is based on the tarot card, which has multiple meanings in different settings, tending to be about dealing with challenge or adversity, and the title song appears twice, once as a full-length reprise. The album contains seven songs in total, 34 minutes in length, and for those who have yet to come across Peter or Venus Loon yet enjoys the style of music described above will find this is a solid introduction.