"The Calm" by Dave Pepper

The latest release from Dave Pepper is called "The Calm" and is now available for you too to enjoy via this link: https://davepepper1.bandcamp.com/track/the-calm

You can probably guess the theme & feel of the song from its title alone and if you have been following my recent reviews of new work by Dave such as his ‘Therapy' album and singles such as "Tranquilo", that must only reinforce a sense of the happy place in which Dave now luckily finds himself. That place geographically is Spain and emotionally it is a relaxing space where he is enjoying living & making new friends, working with new musical collaborators and adding yet another layer to his long and extremely varied musical career. Sonically, "The Calm" is long way from the sounds he was making with the X Certs or Ramrods: much more soothing and lower in volume, aiming at not merely reflecting his own state of mind but trying to have a beneficial effect on ours too. The track is far from free of guitars (or bass) but it is interesting how his Iberian sojourn has led Dave back to the piano & keyboards he occasionally played with earlier bands. This (totally instrumental) song is led by a set of piano chords which anchor & ground it, while an organ comes in later to offer extra textures and an electric guitar varies between a choppy rhythm & traditional soloing.

As you'd expect from Dave, the track is thoughtfully constructed and arranged and so doesn't descend into aimless noodling. As to its efficacy, I certainly found it calming and I trust you will too. If you read the label, it pretty much describes the contents. I doubt we'll be troubling the Trades Descriptions police here.