Heath Cullen and The 45 - A Storm Was Coming But I Didn't Feel Nothing

Heath Cullen is a name that's certainly not new to the scene. His guitar work has been around for the past decade, and appeared on numerous independent records, including on Jackie Marshall's latest outing "Ladies' Luck". With the aide of his own band The 45, Heath Cullen branches out and carves his own unique territory with a strong debut album in "A Storm Was Coming But I Didn't Feel Nothing".

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Though rooted to some extent in alt-country, folk and rock, the album is adventurous, not afraid to dabble in whatever style evokes the required mood. A seasoned career as a backing musician has allowed Cullen to achieve this sort of mishmash of sounds with the confidence and restraint it requires.  There are easy comparisons to the approach of an Andrew Bird or the vocals of Beck (Sea Change era) in the album, and Cullen has tied this sort of low-key approach together with a strong instrumental backing. Musically, "A Storm Was Coming..." is a rich affair. The arrangements are given room to breath and settle into the stunning tapestry in a way that means the flourishes of several guitars -- and often several leads -- are interwoven without clashing. The duelling lead guitars on the short and sharp Break My Heart is a defining moment in the album's instrumentation, and with this southern rock flair laid over the top of a 60s-era rock rhythm complete with liberal use of the Hammond organ is a recurring theme throughout the album.

The album paces itself, taking its time in a way that allows seemingly incongruous songs to slide in perfectly alongside one another. From Your Love Is The Sea to Tryin' To Stay Afloat, nautical theme aside, these two tracks couldn't share less in common. One a distant love song, the other a lurching shanty from a dilapidated seaside carnival. Yet allowed to each settle in for a sojourner that means when one ends and the other begins, they speak for themselves, not each other. It's with this approach that a the pure ragtime instrumental Shepherd's Pie finds a home on the album and even acts as a surprisingly fitting segue into the upbeat pop rock of Kitchen Song.

The imagery in the lyrics completes the "A Storm Was Coming...", ranging from love-torn ballads ("Go on, break my heart, but don't take your time" - Break My Heart) to the wistful and nostalgic (Fullerton's Bridge) to pleasant minutia ("I love to sit together in the dark, singin' them ol' John Prine songs, singin' Guy Clark" - Kitchen Song).

There are moments throughout that appear to evoke the songwriting of Tom Waits; such lines as "Never ask the barber if you need a haircut / Never grab a snake by the tail" (Tryin' To Stay Afloat) flow like snippets of Waitsian wisdom, and the closing track Here Above The Dirt feels like an homage of sorts, with subtle references to several songs, artfully propagated and twisted into one new and original creation, in a manner that'd make latter day Dylan proud.

"A Storm Was Coming But I Didn't Feel Nothing" is a truly solid debut from a talented songwriter with an equally talented group of musicians backing him. Heath Cullen and The 45 have set the bar very high with a debut release that perfectly balances the fine line between cohesive and eclectic.