Loverman - Lovesongs

Loverman is a character.
The one that James de Graef, his real name, has built for himself in recent years. To better titillate the imagination. Like others before him (-M- or Yodelice for example). A singular character, whole, lunar, white clown, naive, poetic, seductive. And in love, then, as the name suggests.
Inevitably, in the album, another character is very present: Daisy, his girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend now but no matter, she is there, in the subject as well as in the (backing) vocals. Like a profession of faith, "Call Me your Loverman" describes well how the 2 characters turn around each other.
Because it is a rather folk record for melancholic lovers. Beautiful melodies, beautiful deep crooner's voice, hello Leonard Cohen, the next generation is assured, and hello Jonathan Bree, the masked guy from New Zealand.

A wide sound grabs you from the first seconds of the record. Is a good arpeggio the be-all and end-all of acoustic guitar? You could be led to believe so, as this record contains so many magnificent ones.
To the point that, when "Who's going to love you?" (Number 3) arrives, you think it starts again exactly like the first 2... and in fact it doesn’t. Awesome trompe-l'oeil.
And when the artist launches into things that are a little darker, or a little more edgy ("Would (Right in Front of your Eyes)"), Nick Cave prowls.

You have to go and see Loverman. He is above all a man of the stage. He has an absolutely remarkable way of catching the audience! There aren't many who do that.
He wants people to be uncomfortable in his concerts. That’s his way of leading them to the best, no doubt. But he also accepts that the audience makes him uncomfortable – it works both ways. Look at how he improvises and plays with people in the chorus of "Differences Aside"!
I also like the way he takes the time to "get to know" the instrument, before playing a song on it. Before installing the character Loverman.