Dave Jackson - Cathedral Mountain (Purple Vinyl)

Country lullabies by way of the Mersey delta. Departing trains, burning churches, murder ballads. The 3am longing insomnia. Revival music for the wounded soul. Cathedral Mountain, originally released in 2010, is an album by Dave Jackson, he of cult heroes The Room, of Benny Profane, of Dead Cowboys. Here, on his first solo outing, he serves a collection of songs as beautiful as the title suggests. Jackson has a masterful grip of his own lyrics - think Nick Cave’s dark melancholy, the tragicomedy of Warren Zevon or Hank Williams.

The music plays with both light and shade as effortlessly: acoustic flourishes come courtesy of none other than John Head of Shack / Pale Fountains fame. John also adds spiritual harmonies alongside his sister, Joanne, and Tim O’Shea, who co-writes throughout the album and plays guitar.

The original (Fred Dellar) Mojo review concludes: (Cathedral Mountain) is an album that is easy to listen to, even though the subject matter is frequently dark and involves a drowned wife, the hanging of a murderous vicar and stories for the blackest of nights. Think of a crossroads halfway between Johnny Cash and the House of Hammer. Somewhere there, Dave Jackson is waiting. 

The album is available here on Vinyl, and features Cathedral Mountain artwork by Martin Carr (Boo Radleys).

1. In The Mud By A River

2. Am

3. Lone Hawk Hotel

4. Red Car

5. Cabin

6. Deadly Ship

7. Cathedral Mountain

8. Going Stray

9. Religious Man/Jerked To Jesus#2

10. At The End Of Love