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'Here' is as musically straightforward as its title suggests. For Padma is a man of few airs and graces, with no false gestures or emotions on show at any point in this record.
Emotional depth is here in abundance, however, and there is a deep seated blend of melancholy and contentment running through both music and lyrics. The contentment seems to come from the author's survival of a brain haemorrhage three years ago, though he maintains in his blog this hasn't changed his overall view of life.
This album could well have been called 'Home', were it not for Padma's frequent travelling and nomadic lifestyle. So home is where he is at the moment, and when you listen to the record it feels like he's in the same room with you.
The lyrics are well-crafted, wry, and at times deeply affecting, spun over a simple accompaniment that often comprises just the guitar, with occasional backing vocals and spatial effects. It deviates little from this format, but given the approach doesn't need to. Only in Buddha Energy is there a real group of people present, the final chorus given a communal feel.
Single Spacefood And Balloons is lyrically entertaining, though there are gems elsewhere. "If the world was a nicer place, well I'd throw my drugs away", he sings. Or, on Pilot, comes the sort of lyric that makes you reach for the rewind function, when he sings "didn't you notice, I've been lying here with high heeled sneakers on". More profound is the opening Half A Person, a softly spoken memorial that observes, "when you were here I thought I was so strong, now you're gone...it's so wrong."
The album works on two levels - first as very pleasant, calming background music to start or finish the day two - or second as a set of well-versed observations on life and its emotions. If you can make the time for it, the rewards are plenty.
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