The amount of Grace Emily jokes I’ve heard - or borne the brunt of – are actually ridiculously high. However, I’ve never heard a song with the same name.
Except for now.
And I love it.
The new, long-awaited CD from The Dave Man Collective sees the band in full flight crossing the terrain from the organic blues and roots into the more universal rock landscape. And they have done it extremely well.
With tracks like Locked Out and Crashing Down, it isn’t hard to see why these guys have been playing sell-out shows across Australia. The three guys have stepped right up and produced an album of an extremely high standard. They have documented their natural evolution as an edgier, more substantial musical entity.
The title track is all squealing electrics and perhaps somewhat fitting lyrics to their obvious evolution (‘I know a change is good, but it’s hard to take the first bite of something new’). This is a brilliant song, as are the five that follow.
Grace Emily is one of the slower songs off the record and is a nice break from the thrashing drums and rockier vibe. The lyrics show a different side to Dave Mann; they exude an innocence and a gentlemanly charm which is quite rare in today’s performers (‘And I miss you and all of your attributes,” the chorus states. ‘I keep you in my mind to ease the pass of time’).
Heart Over Mind is a stand-out album; a true success.
Grace Goodfellow