MAN DRAWER
Will Riding
By way of introduction, Will is a gentle and unassuming soul, frequently appearing at clubs and festivals throughout the FNW region and beyond, as performer, floor singer, attendee and volunteer – so immersed in the folk scene is he, that it is something of a surprise that his album, rather than being a stylistic cornucopia, drawing from and combining the culture, Man Drawer wholly represents the man himself and his individual take on the world.
Armed only with a voice and guitar, which he uses sparingly to augment and illustrate his words, picking carefully, rather than strumming with abandon, Will takes us on a trip around the storage space inside his mind, his, memories and observations have been filed away and sometimes, self admittedly, written down for future use.
As hinted at in the previous paragraph, Will’s songs are a vehicle for his words, at once both superficially naïve and deeply insightful, sometimes surprising in their sideways look at the world and then turning that expectation on its head by utilising just the rhyme that you thought that others might make, but not Will! It’s a delightful experience that warrants several listens, as new discoveries are there to be made each time.
The experience of childhood is a frequent motif, from direct experience or through observation – both with strong autobiographical content, yet folk tropes are also there for your listening pleasure. The cautionary tale of the consequences of unrequited love and the disappearing suitor are addressed in ‘The Gardener’s Daughter’, where, having set the scene of the moonlit room and the four-poster bed, the ensuing throes of passion are described thus;
“…giggled and squirmed
like fish out of water,
left on the beach
by the tide”
It is safe to assume that there was little risk of the amorous couple lying there, all desire spent, only to be confronted by Lord Donald and his deep in the purse pair of swords.
We will leave his lyrical descriptions of the mysteries of childbirth, they can remain your own discovery at the time of your choosing – suffice to say that they will not be included in pre-natal parenting classes, despite the veracity of his words.
When the venom comes, it is still delivered in the mildest of forms, thus ‘The Elves and The Shoemaker’ does offer the gentlest devastating critique of the capitalist system you are ever likely to hear – and is all the more powerful for it! Similarly, when dealing with disappointment, he has turned the visceral feelings of disappointment into a poignant tale of overcoming shattered expectations and emerging with positivity.
There is still time for a twist on the theme of two aged lovers celebrating their time together, as it emerges that they are both called John, giving Will the opportunity to chronicle and comment on the challenges that they have seen off and the changes that have taken place since they first fell for each other.
Truly, the antithesis of stadium pomp, Man Drawer explores the world through the microcosmic lens of curiosity, optimism and individual observation, yet still manages to share glimpses of the macrocosm that engulf us all.
Please note that this review should have been published much sooner, but as Will reminds us, ‘The time for procrastination is now’, though if you do get chance to see him, don’t put it off.
