Album Review: Part Of The Light, Ray La Montagne

Ever since he burst onto the scene with 2004’s wonderful Trouble, Ray LaMontagne has proven he knows his way around a love song. It’s a rare gift, and one that he’s nourished over the course of five subsequent releases. The fact that he continues to write such affecting songs without dipping into the big bucket of songwriting clichés is a tribute to the man’s enduring talent.

‘It’s Always Been You’ could bring a lump to the toughest throat: all warbling guitar, spacey production, tender piano and aching lyrics about how he’s loved his lady, “Since the first star split the black, split the silence too.” Similarly, the deceptively simple acoustic guitar and vocals of ‘Such A Simple Thing’ paw at your heart-strings, as he proclaims, “My heart is like paper, yours is like a flame.”
Album opener ‘To The Sea’ is all breathy vocals and gently strummed guitar, as LaMontagne invites the listener into his world of whispered intimacies and blissful domesticity. The title track mixes cascading guitars with hymn-like vocals, while the closing ‘Goodbye Blue Sky’ could be Ryan Adams fronting Crazy Horse.

While Part Of The Light sounds like it could be a lost gem from 1975, there’s a real craft to LaMontagne’s songwriting that will never grow old. He’s clearly oblivious to fads – and that’s a great thing.