Angel Blossom 2023
Former gumshoe from Californian shores finds a stash of tuneful gems and gets away with it.
As an erstwhile private detective, Donovan Plant has an uncanny eye for detail; as a contemporary musician, this Frisco denizen has an uncanny ear for texture. Such qualities helped Plant get to play in San Quentin prison and go down well on its stage, even though, with just two EPs under his belt, Donovan clearly couldn’t offer a lot of original material. However, here’s a third one to cap his run and point toward a full-length album where philosophy and spiritualism would be given proper panoramic scope, yet that’s all a part of the ongoing process for the veteran.
Not coincidentally, this platter’s title track – a major update of a piece Plant co-penned more than three decades ago – locates him in a desolate place, with acoustic strum gradually dissolving the gloom Donovan’s intimate vocals seem to amass on their way through scintillatingly slow, warm balladry before solid riffs cut into its almost orchestral soundscape. Still, soulful opener “Grow” proffers a robust stereo dive into pop idiom that’s given universal appeal via memorable words and organ swirl, Lliam Hart’s drums and Mike Henry;s bass providing a deep groove for Jason Rojek’s bluesy guitar to jive over, while the infectious finale “White Wolf” drives the listener into the artist’s psyche and prompts them to shout in unison with him.
It’s a proposition which is difficult to resist. Should an album of similar taste arrive soon, Donovan Plant will fully arrive for everyone to savor his music.
****4/5
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