Performer Magazine : The Musician's Resource

Brian Ledford
The Truth and Love

Seattle, WA
Produced, engineered and mixed by Matt Brown | Mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering | Recorded Oct. 2008 to Feb. 2009 at The Brewery Recording Company in Seattle | Mixed Feb. 2009 at Avast! Studios in Seattle

“Marooned” opens up an album by Brian Ledford, a powerful portrait of Americana roots rock that paints a story of finding the meaning of life, through travel and time.

The Truth and Love is a feel-good album that blends the grainy, soulful, raw passionate vocals of Ledford, strong storytelling, and a powerful backing group complete with horns.

Ledford fills his songs with passion, lacing each melody with his intricate, subtle phrasing. The title track begins to reveal Ledford’s deep emotional palette, as the songs begin to spell pain and longing. You can certainly sense it in his vocal delivery as he sings, “If that’s the price of love, then please, take it back, cause the truth ain’t worth it anymore.”

“Stones on the Bottom of the Sea” brings the listener to the inner core of Ledford, as the song delivers the goods: great vocals, a great story and a great atmosphere.

This song, perhaps one of the album’s best, truly brings you to the scene, as if Ledford is saving you from the ocean’s wake. Here you’ll find riveting percussion, complete with utterly beautiful cymbals splashing, like the splashing of waves, crashing along the shore. In this song, as throughout the album, you’ll hear the punch and fury of distorted guitars and rolling, droning bass lines. “Please! Someone rescue me from the bottom of the sea,” sings a sad and lonely Ledford.

“Borderline” provides even more depth and atmosphere to Ledford’s overall sound. It further penetrates the listener with whirling Hammond organs and slide guitars – easily giving the song shimmer and shine. An album detailing happiness, sorrow, fear and conquering fear, The Truth and Love is a perfect concept piece, building character sketches of people traveling far distances to finally sense of glimpse of something special. You’ll hear it in “The Plan (Is Revealed).”

Not all will be able to travel, write, play songs and experience what Ledford has, yet his music will be with us as close as our headsets. And his music can transport us there. (Sound Squared Records)
-Shawn M. Haney
myspace.com/bleds