This is a lovely slow drive of an album is the sound of a man just playing his songs, albeit in a post production environment.
Frills are not what young is about . The tunes are acoustic guitar based and the beats ,samples and splashes of sound that adorn them serve to complement and confirm his workman like touch ,thankfully not distracting from what is a thouroughly enjoyable set of beautifully crafted songs.
The opening track , how far, seems to shuffle on to the stereo, eyes fixed to the floor, as the opening words commence half a bar after an acoustic guitar pluck . But as the chorus opens up ,the whole song shifts subbtly, as if, head lifted ,eyes wide open ,the song itself slips into its own relaxed comfort zone. A feeling that continues throughout the album.
With vaugely weary but thoughtful and compassionate lyrics, the songs here are marked by simple but effective melodies and some very catchy choruses Solar System is a highlight. Ethereal and unanchored by standard song structure, it is one of those slightly spooky meanderings which David Bride
specialiises in that could just go on and leaves the listener slightly sad when it comes to an end.
Soldiers Of Happiness is an unusually upbeat,lilting jamaican style number, all light and dizzy, while Live On A Moon and Steps Beyond are wistful daydreams that float along on seas of string synths ,xylophones,acoustic guitars and roling drum patterns.
An atmospheric and inventive recording, Shifting Sands Of A Blue Car is a very real album .strip away the guest musicians and production after thoughts ( all of which add great value ,mind you ) and you have an album of songs sung by a man with his guitar.
Which is what will make this album as listenable and penetrating in 10 years time as it is today. Quietly sombre but tantalisingly intimate.
Phill Bennett - Nova - street press Australia (May 9, 2004)