Tom Houston is a wonderful breath of fresh air, and his recently released new single only continues his flow of writing successes. He gifts us beautiful tales wrapped in gentle melodies, told by a voice so full of time passed, yet so full of Spring’s youth. ‘I Am The River #33’ is just one of the brilliant new tracks from his upcoming album, Gap In The Fence, on which Tom reunites with musician friends with whom he recorded his first album back in 1987, which makes me smile. That’s the effect that Tom and his music has.
This track is quite special. Conversations of drifting piano, twinkling guitar and gliding cello produce a sweet melancholy, graced by the angelic tones of Mary Erskine’s vocals accompanying Tom’s emotional presence. The rhyme runs through…..’I am the river and the river is me’. With these words, Tom embodies the empowering connection of the Maori tribe of Whanganui, New Zealand, to their ancestral river that flows through the mountains. It is so treasured a presence, that legislation passed, recognising the natural wonder as a living being with the rights of a living person. These sentiments beat through the heart of this song. Great inspiration makes for great music.
If I wasn’t introduced to this Scottish artist, then I would never had happened upon the song, Lilias, from Tom’s first solo album, Filling In The Cracks. It is one of the loveliest songs I’ve heard. Thank you!
You can access more of Tom’s work at https://www.tomhouston.org/. Wait eagerly in anticipation for his upcoming album which will be released in October, but dive into ‘I Am The River #33’ now:
The Waxing Lyrical 