With his debut solo album, Toronto-based singer/songwriter David James Allen establishes himself as a bona fide roots music auteur, transporting us to a place that to our modern perceptions will seem uncomfortably foreign, or conversely, all too real. Listeners previously heard flashes of Allen’s brilliance in his previous work with the Barrie, Ontario collective Stonetrotter, but on “When The Demons Come” he takes full command in bridging his wide-ranging country, folk, blues and gospel influences.
Recorded at various locations around Ontario over the course of a year, the album in fact gathers a decade’s worth of material Allen had accumulated, which had not found a home within other various projects. Still, there is a common thread of sin and redemption connecting all of the songs, and through the assistance of several of his Stonetrotter band mates and pedal steel virtuoso Aaron Goldstein, it adds up to a haunting and endlessly rewarding listening experience.
If you like/hear what you see, be sure to check out David’s live show at The Cove on Saturday September 7th from 5:30-8:30pm.
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