Derrin Nauendorf
Album: Distant Empires
Label: Rising
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.derrinnauendorf.com

With his regular gigging and radio appearances, it's been easy to miss that Derrin Nauendorf hasn't had a new studio album in about five years, giving weight the phrase, 'the notoriously difficult third album.' Well, after a difficult conception, that album, "Distant Empires" has arrived.

"Distant Empires", I would venture to suggest, is his most song orientated album to date. Yes the guitar skills that he has rightly built his reputation on are all there, proudly displayed to the fore, as is his distinctive, soft soul vocal, but this time the songs have taken on more meaning, more of a role in the whole.

Nauendorf has written a more political album, with both a little and big p. The two previous cuts, "Rattling Wheels" and "Skin Of The Earth" were, songwise, more of that standard blues fair mainly oriented around relationships and opportunities to showcase his guitar ability, "Distant Empires" has a far wider front.

You couldn't describe "Distant Empires" as a protest album, but it does come across as more socially aware, that Nauendorf has a need to express issues as well as emotions. Of course, there is no way that you can review one of his albums without giving a serious nod towards the guy's guitar skills, he is after all a top league acoustic guitar player. I think that's something that is even more emphasised here.

The reason for that is that he has a lot more context to work in, the songs are less formulaic and that means he's had to think more about how he uses that guitar. The result is that I think "Distant Empires" is his strongest album to date. This is the album that will establish him as a songwriter as much as a six string man.

Neil King