Look For Me

Much like a serendiptous jam session, this debut album is said to be birthed out of coincidence and a shared passion for music and poetry. The effort is evident in the matte limited edition sleeve boasting an exclusive production of 1000 CDs.

However, this seems a veneer for what lies beneath, as the album fails to ascribe to the level of professionalism and refined talent we are coming to expect from South African productions.

'Look For Me' consists of 15 tracks that lean towards a mellow country-blues feel. This is unfortunately somewhat contrived by the repetitive use of words such as "mama" and "ain't" which diminish originality from the lyrics.

The instruments used are of a traditional bluegrass nature including, typical of this genre, the resonator guitar and harmonica. The mood is largely moribund and ponderous, and a noticeable lack of progression in tempo from track to track lends itself to a feeling of journeying slowly with undecided direction. Being largely vocally driven, the musical content is dry but comes across as lacking in generosity.

Although the vocals confront deeper issues such as loss and the darker aspects of the heart, the meaning behind the words for the most part remains elusive — for example "A crow-eyed dog/An old guitar/Silence in an empty room/Yet echoes from beyond the stair/We close our eyes/And we are everywhere" from 'Everywhere'. Whilst abstract lyrics do provide mental fodder to chew on, the lack of emotion in Jacques Coetzee's voice encumbers attempts to convey the deeper meaning, distancing the listener.

Red Earth and Rust may expiate this debut through raising the temperature of their creative furnace as a silversmith would in order to purify metal.