Dan Parsons - Old Brown Shoe

A rarity for the Brisbane acoustic roots music scene is a release of such maturity. Careful not to overdo the production as can be tempting when presented with the endless opportunities of the studio environment, each track carefully balances its composition with just the right instruments to evoke the required mood, along the way genre-hopping to find the sound that best evokes the required mood.

Parsons sticks to the acoustic guitar for the majority, with a few jaunts at the keyboard on a few tracks. The guitar work offered is skillfully subtle; careful not to over do it, leaving the sound to be filled out by a handful of other musicians. I never thought I'd be hearing pedal steel on a Brisbane release, but it comes out on 'The Morning After' and takes the track in a decidedly country direction

Perhaps it's a copout to liken Parsons' voice to that of one of Brisbane's biggest recent success stories, however there's something distinctly Bernard Fanning in his vocals, perhaps with some of Nizlopi's Luke Concannon thrown in for good measure. Strong and clear, Parsons' voice tops off Old Brown Shoe, making for a decidedly smooth album that is centred around the singer-songwriter.

Ranging from the appropriate low-key demo-tape qualities of 'Slow Saturday' to the wistfully melancholic spin on the classic road song on 'Coast to Coast'.

Truly an interesting product of the Brisbane roots scene, Dan Parsons is a name we'll see more of as times goes on, and Old Brown Shoe is a debut to be proud of.