Five years ago, Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) and Dan Reed (Dan Reed Network) decided to combine their talents in a joint project: a live acoustic touring act called Snake Oil & Harmony. The project led to two acclaimed tours, where they shared their songs and the stories behind them with audiences throughout Europe, building a rep for their singing, musicianship and spellbinding rapport with their audiences. The tours sparked the pair into further creative partnership, kindling their considerable talents to create new, original songs, which they added to their repertoire on tour. Now, Snake Oil & Harmony are releasing their debut album ‘Hurricane Riders’ on Friday 28th February, 2020 on Zero One Entertainment, to coincide with their next tour, which begins in March 2020.
Two of Rock’s finest creators and vocalists certainly have that spark and it’s that friendship and feeling that these two guys are completely at ease with each other that really makes a connection on ‘Hurricane Riders’.
They open the account with ‘The Lines Are Open’ and you are immediately plunged into an album of gentle delights and some severely fine melodies – the opener itself transports you on gentle winds to a simpler world and with its uplifting words smothers you in its gentle wings. It’s the musical equivalent of comfort food for the soul and whilst there are echoes of some of Vaughn’s earlier post-Tyketto compositions there an absurdness and deftness of touch that has been perfected over the years. It’s a stunning start.
‘Last Man Standing’ the opening single that follows is an even longer song on which Dan takes the lead, it has a swelling West Coast vibe and gentle soft rock finish that is almost the antithesis of the fine rock music these gentlemen made in their formative years, but if this is the product of their combined experience it’s close to perfection. A beautiful track.
‘Aberfan’ is interesting subject matter for a song, retelling the story of the 1966 disaster near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales that killed over a hundred children from Pantglas Junior School and many other residents when a mining spoil heap collapsed and engulfed a school in the village below. It’s a suitably raw and painful song carried on silken words and instrumentation.
After that emotional wrench comes the uplifting and inspiring ‘Dance in the Heart of the Sun’ a song that realises that life can be hard but we all need those shots of joy. And it’s that balance between the more balladic fare and the deeply melodic light rock that continues to hit the spot. ‘Another Reason’ is another real gem – a wonderfully understated song that plays with light and shadow lyrically as it dances gently into a forgiving light.
‘Damned If You Do’ sounds to me like one of Danny’s stories with a host of characters woven into the lyrics which are carried on the back of a gentle melody, it’s sublime: and the weightier ‘Where the Water Goes’ that follows may just be the best song here, with verses echoing some of Vaughn’s earlier lyrics and the best chorus on the album with Dan and Danny at the absolute zenith of what Snake Oil & Harmony can offer. It’s beautiful.
On an album of wonderful songs and astonishing moments of gentle soft rock, I’m as surprised as anyone that there’s one song that breaks the pattern and that’s the sheer unadulterated Americana of ‘Cannonball’ and it feels so natural you just want more. And as contrast next comes the most ‘AOR’ song here – ‘Save the Day’ which sees Dan and Danny back in the territory the album opened with,it’s another delicious song that would see you through a month of rainy days – a great snake oil for the soul maybe?
A wonderful album comes to an end with ‘Little Hercules’ a song that sees Dan and Danny complimenting each other so perfectly it almost steals the show with a Simon and Garfunkel-like showstopper.
The words ‘Snake Oil’ conjure up all kinds of images of confidence tricksters and scammers from the Medicine Shows of bygone ages who sold valueless potions that were meant to be the ‘cure for all ills’. Someone better tell these guys that they’ve discovered a Snake Oil here that actually does deliver what it promises on the bottle.
9/10
SNAKE OIL & HARMONY UK TOUR
Pre-order link: https://snakeoilandharmony.tmstor.es/
March 12: Putney, London, The Half Moon
March 13: Milton Keynes, The Craufurd Arms
March 14: Sheffield, Local Authority @ The Corporation
March 15: Newcastle Upon Tyne, The Cluny
March 17: Chester, The Live Rooms
March 18: Bristol, The Fleece
March 20: Aberdare, Wales, Jacs
March 21: Stoke On Trent, Eleven
March 22: Bilston, The Robin 2
March 24: Blackpool, The Waterloo
March 25: Glasgow, Cottiers Theatre
March 27: Manchester, Night People
March 28: Ballymena, NI, The Diamond
