The Gleeman’s classic, acoustic guitar driven songs are patient, sweet, and mature. A singer/songwriter who continues to pursue his craft by the book, The Gleeman’s music effortlessly touches the heart with amazing grace.
An anticipated debut, Something To Say is a warm welcome for The Gleeman into a landscape thirsty for this kind of weighted songwriting. The Gleeman is Dean Morris, a London based artist whose latent musical talent was left unexplored for a criminally long time, but maybe all for the best. Having been immersed in music since his coastal, Cornish childhood, and writing songs since his teenage years, songs that he ultimately shelved for decades, it was his experience watching his mother and father descend into dementia that pushed him to finally dust away the cobwebs from his musical identity, uncovering the music of The Gleeman for all of us to revel in.
Something To Say is a lengthy, healthy listen, mixed beautifully from start to finish by the fantastic Will Hicks, with wholesome sounding production and balanced soundscapes, and songs that have been written throughout The Gleeman’s decades of artistic maturing. The sound of the songs is mostly very casual and melodic with storytelling taking the centerstage on most of the album’s songs. Starting the album with a Cat Stevens recalling piece of folkish, acoustic rock, ‘The Legendary Planetary Émigré’ is a song about literally leaving your troubles and past behind and leaving the planet. The groovy, time-shifting feel is a fantastically hip introduction to the album, The Gleeman’s lively vocals, solid acoustic guitar rhythm, and multi-faceted songwriting. Following that up with ‘The Hurting’, ‘Borrowed Time’, and ‘Marie’ makes it very hard for competition to even get a chance. ‘The Hurting’ is a gorgeous and piece of music that delicately hides its darkness under a sheen of graceful elegance. A song about letting individuals decide to pass on in dignity when they decide it is time to do so, ‘The Hurting’ is painfully beautiful with its balanced and sparkling piano-based delivery, deep and collected groove, touching story, and just plain wonderful music. Soft, deep, dark, but ultimately full of love, ‘The Hurting’ is an outstanding song.
‘Borrowed Time’ is a more delicate, fingerpicked acoustic ballad written in loving memory of Morris’s friend who eventually succumbed to his terminal illness. A song written in memory of said friend’s valiant fight and unfading spirits in the face of one of probably the toughest situations a person could be subjected to, the appreciation and love shines through in every detail of ‘Borrowed Time’. ‘Marie’ is the album’s earliest cut, written some 30 years ago. A song about believing in oneself, ‘Marie’ is a vibrant piece of pop music that’s dynamic and stirringly upbeat with its quick pace and fanfare horns. Channeling Bowie, Elton John, and Billy Joel, ‘The Gunslinger’ is a ballad about an outlaw with a surprising twist and a very chill groove courtesy of its piano rhythm line and endless clean guitar noodling. Perhaps one of the album’s most touching songs, written a few days after the passing of The Gleeman’s mother, ‘You Are Not Alone’ is a universal message to whoever is dealing with loss or is grieving, a universally relatable message that this feeling will fade away and that the stormy clouds will blow then will pass on. Morris approaches this with a gracefulness that’s usual at this point in the album. A novel acoustic guitar arrangement and his soft, vulnerable voice are the only two sounds that can be found on ‘You Are Not Alone’.
‘Somebody’ sees The Gleeman wrap a darkness -again- in a layer of hopefulness. This time, a widower is struggling to move on and embrace the modern world of online dating as he is still hanging on to the past and to his late wife that tragically passed away years ago. The jittery rhythm and easy-going composition make ‘Somebody’ an effervescent and cheerful listen, more so than any other song that preceded it. ‘A Better Friend’ could be a follow up to The Fray’s ‘How to Save a Life’. A song written in rumination over a friend who took their own life, this quirky piano ballad explores yet another dimension of grief and loss. A love song for the actual house The Gleeman grew up in, ‘You Will Always Be My Home’ is warm and gentle like a soft blanket. Weighted and melancholic too, it is one of the album’s sadder sounding songs, in spite of its generally positive message of love. maybe because of its watery flow and gentle syncopation, or maybe because of the tear-jerking string arrangement, or maybe because of The Gleeman’s soft-spoken delivery and touching words. Truly one of the highlights of the album.
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Death is a recurring theme throughout Something To Say, but so is hope, appreciation, reminiscence, and acceptance. On this exceedingly mature album, The Gleeman combines decades of honed, life experiences into neat and easy-to-digest musical capsules, each one with a message, and loaded with emotion that’s honest, direct, and confrontational. A bold album that does not shy away from the darkness and how it is an elemental part of the lives we live, Something To Say is Dean Morris’s extremely delayed debut. A wonderful, proper, and patient introduction into the musical universe of The Gleeman.
