Album Review: ALEX LLOYD - DISTANT LIGHT, EMI 7243 5 92608 2 2. Reviewed by Tony Magee

Let's get back to some fantastic Australian pop and rock. This month it's the new Alex Lloyd album Distant Light, which includes the tracks Coming Home and 1000 Miles, both released as singles.

I must admit, Alex Lloyd (a Balmain boy) is new to me, so this review is more a report on my reactions to some new music. I like him!

You can hear influences from Steve Miller band, Jackson Browne, Sting, Peter Frampton and others. These are all favourites of mine (particularly Steve Miller) so it's not surprising that I feel comfortable with Alex Lloyd almost immediately.

And the other great part about his music and the way it is performed is that there is enough that is new and different. This is not just another rock album. The feels and grooves have a driving pulse and energy that is not often heard these days and even rivals that of some of the classic bands of the seventies that I mentioned before.

This is comfortable music. Instantly engaging, listenable in every way, a nice balance of up tempo rock and more sensitive ballads (not unlike the structure of some Beatles albums actually). The songs are also very singable. Once you hear it a few times, you'll be singing along too. So probably will the staff. Then the customers.  I'm putting it on again straight away. Love it.

First published in Restaurant and Catering Magazine, Jan 2004