Texas-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter
Bret Mosley makes his debut with the solid roots rock Americana of
Light & Blood. Recorded live in the studio in Woodstock, NY, this is a near-solo album with only occasional bass, electric guitar, and pedal steel accents, plus several songs' worth of harmonica accompanying
Mosley's vocals, Dobro, and stompboard.
Mosley has a nicely understated voice, and doesn't overplay the gruffness that gives his vocals their character. Similarly, he's an admirably non-flashy guitarist, even though he's working in a style that has made many lesser musicians attempt to channel their inner
Taj Mahal; in this austere context, the
Mark Knopfler-like electric guitar figures that decorate
Mosley's groove-oriented rhythm playing on "Run It Again" sound so superfluous as to verge on actively irritating. The drawback of this lack of ornamentation is that over the course of ten fairly lengthy songs, it becomes clear that
Mosley is a talented but somewhat limited singer/songwriter whose songs tend to sound rather alike. In smaller doses, however,
Light & Blood is a promising if not entirely successful debut. ~ Stewart Mason