Although you may not be familiar with Trooper’s earlier albums (all on small independents and almost all out of print), you may well be aware of his work, he’s had tracks on albums from artists such as Lucy Kaplansky, Steve Earle, Billy Bragg and Tom Russell amongst others. With such respected artists covering his work, you’d expect good things from ‘Floating’, and from the first minute of the first track it’s obvious that this is an album of real quality.
Stylistically this an interesting album, Trooper lives in Nashville and there’s an obvious Nashville singer/songwriter air to the disc, but there’s a more traditional East Coast songwriter feel to much of the lyrics and subject matter – it’s a wonderful combination that really works well.
The overall sound has been pared down from his last release, and while ‘Floating’ isn’t sparse in instrumentation, the production by Phil Madeira is simple and really effective, there’s a fresh feel to the disc that would have been lost with lots of embellishments or over-production. Everything is crystal clear and it’s easy to follow all the musical themes, the drums/percussion work is varied and worthy of note, other instrumentation includes guitar (Buddy Miller), bass, mandolin and fiddle.
There are a good number of strong songs here, with all 12 tracks worthy of their place; this really is a disc with no filler. Picking highlights is difficult, but the songs that best sum up the album as a whole are ‘When My Tears Break Through’ a wonderful co-write with Buddy Mondlock, ‘Floating’ which is both musically and lyrically atmospheric, and ‘The Road So Long’ which opens the album in grand style.
This is an excellent album, and a disc well worthy of the praise it will undoubtedly receive, and will hopefully bring this hugely talented writer and performer to a wider audience.

£13.49