Lonesome Blue is a straightforward collection of country songs, steeped in a Western swing and vintage sound. The mood is benign and upbeat, perhaps to the point of lacking a focal interest. Production is classic and likeable, with a steel slide guitar, simple acoustic solos, a fiddle, mandolin, and various percussion pieces. However, at times the layered instruments make a somewhat flat canvas, and the various textures do not emerge as distinctively as they could -- some may consider this a flaw, others might see it as an engineering accomplishment.
John Miller's lead vocal is clean, if slightly dry in presentation, and occasional backing harmonies add welcome color to the mix. "Heart on the Line" deviates somewhat from the track list, with a more pensive, folky flavor, from its opening "early morning" acoustic guitar to the odd gaps of silence in the verses, which have an interesting dramatic effect and help draw one in to the lyrics. "Living Without You" is another high point, having the cadence of an electric
Waylon Jennings tune and some lovely fiddle work. "Take Me Back to San Francisco" is a further quiet success, with the most earnest lyrics and vocal performance yet, a gorgeous, moody pedal steel, slowly developing with additional drums, a fiddle, and eventually a mandolin. Overall, the lyrics find their strength in songs about unrequited love and longing -- a universally successful theme in song. Fans of the solo
Michael Nesmith might appreciate
Lonesome Blue, but without the quirky sentiments and impertinent delivery that sets him apart from the likes of the
Radio Sweethearts. The album includes no covers, as all songs were written by band members
Miller and
Frank Macdonald. For a band of Glaswegians, their sound is thoroughly, unfalteringly American. Nonetheless,
Lonesome Blue will neither inspire the blues nor cure loneliness, and lacks the character to be a memorable album.