Album Review: Davey Lane - Atonally Young

Given Davey Lane’s formidable resume, even focusing on the areas outside of lead guitar duties in You Am I, the fact he’s only just now releasing a debut full-length album is understandable.

On one hand, fans of the ‘chord-slinging cowboy’ (a description too apt to omit from any statement about him) might be wondering what took him so long, but on the other, after consideration, it really is no surprise. Two full-time band memberships, world tours, collaborations and contributions to countless other musicians’ works; the man needed more time than he had to focus on his own release. Make no mistake, however; this one was well worth the wait.

Atonally Young is a melting pot of the old and the new; original ideas and influences; Lane’s eccentricities and his debonair wickedness. Lane explores interstellar territory across this album, paying homage to a pioneer cosmonaut in Komarov, delves into topics of supernatural lust in the Bowie-esque Witch In My Mind and delivers the bittersweet The Undergrowth in a simultaneously tender and eerie manner. Atonally Young is spotted with both smooth, soulful hits (A Lesson In Cause And Effect) and hurtling rock numbers. Perhaps stealing the show in the latter category is The Last Of The Freakazoids. Also worth a mention, In The Light Of The Sun makes for a well-rounded and titular ending to the record. Davey Lane masterfully illustrates just how amazing the scope can be on an electric guitar.