David Ford - Let The Hard Times Roll

David Ford – Let The Hard Times Roll (Original Signal Recordings)

A musical masterclass from the Eastbourne troubadour

***** (Outstanding)

“I don’t really understand how I have been allowed to continue for so long given my phenomenal lack of commercial success. What I have come to believe is that the honesty of music might just stand a chance against the tried and tested bullshit of the machine. Not a great chance, but a chance nonetheless.”

So blogged David Ford on his website, just prior to the digital release of Let The Hard Times Roll, his new studio album.

In the last five years I can count on less than two hands the number of albums that have reaffirmed my faith in great music. After ten years of trying, Ford sounds like the real deal.

Let The Hard Times Roll is Ford’s proving ground. In this arena he demonstrates an innate ability to glide from the powerful and majestic to the vulnerable and questioning. Humanity and politics are the adrenaline running through the bloodstream of this record.

Opener “Panic” breaks into drama at the halfway point, stylistically reminiscent of classic Josh Ritter while “Sylvia” strolls along with overtones of Oasis’ “She’s Electric”.

In some ways, Ford is competing on Ryan Adams territory. But Adams could never make a record like this. The depth and focus of the lyrics are crafted somewhere between the poetic and the genius and are at their strongest on the simple, heartbreaking “Stephen” and the resigning, condemning “Nothing At All”. It is during the latter that Ford’s lyrical precision shines through, “In some far-flung aggression/kids are dying for me/I am nothing at all/like I wanted to be”.

The album closer “Call to Arms” is the most overtly political song on the record. But Ford tempers his demands with love, “This is a call to arms/hold your darling tight/don’t let her go at the fork in the road”. His message – stick together. Make your decisions with belief and love. Fight for honesty and truth. The songs ending feels like an opportunity missed to bring the album to an epic close, with Ford instead choosing a choir-like hymnal finale and a slightly awkward key change.

I have always believed that the honesty of music might just stand a chance against “the bullshit of the machine.” Let The Hard Times Roll reaffirms my belief in real songwriting. It is a craft borne out of hard graft, an understanding of the world we live in and the ability to translate that understanding into something more than just words. Add to these skills David Ford’s outstanding musicianship and Let The Hard Times Roll will hold it’s own as one of the finest records of the year.

David Ford is taking his solo show on tour to Canada and the US until March 26^th. In the UK, don’t miss him with his full band in Leeds - Brudenell Social Club (April 11^th), Newcastle – The Kluny 2 (April 12^th) and London – Camden Koko (April 13^th).

Steve McNeill