Review by Michael Gadd - The Newcastle Herald

DYMYR - The Salarium Space Friday,

August 28 2004

A SINGLE voice soared through the candle-lit room lamenting fanaticism, extremism and unjust wars.
It was a bold a cappella opening for Dymyr, an unassuming English- man with frizzy hair, adopted by Newcastle, who has seen the world in many forms and survived to tell the tale.

And man, can he tell the tale.
What followed, in front of an attentive seated crowd, was some- thing special. Dymyr showed an ability to tell stories and comment on the world as he sees it through his songs. But he also proved himself a consummate pro- fessional, entertainer, musician and most importantly, songwriter.

In the past six months he has been gathering his band of multi- instrumentalists to help him get his songs out. The instruments spread across the stage far outnumbered the band members and spelled versatility.
Some of the tracks came from the troubadour's solo album, such as the opening refrain, Our Yesterdays which does not preach but shares a feeling.

The singer-songwriter then stepped to the keyboard and delivered the moving ballad Before the Rain, and followed up with a poppy tribute to escapism.

Christmas Morning, with guitars and fiddle engulfing the room, was a stirring personal appraisal of the reality of the so-called celebration for the have-nots, those battling for every scrap, inspired by Margaret Thatcher, but with an uplifting folky vibe that spelt home and optimism.

The show was then littered with diversity, keyboard-driven heart- renders mixed with folk-inspired gems. 1843 was a joy-filled sea shanty for the downtrodden while the sax and guitar intro to Gently Screaming would have induced tears had Dymyr not made light of the situation. Lucky for my limited manliness, that he did.

Stunning guitar from Randall Wagner stood out on the romantic Passion Raging before the cut back acoustic version of I Wanna Hold You, a love song that didn't need the word love. Open City was a stunning, sprawling journey about clinging on to desperation that needs to be seen, beginning with piano and violin, and building to an epic guitar solo; brilliant words, moods and execution.

To finish, Fumblin Love, jazzy ragtime skiffle about two people meeting at a pub and trying to get home, sent the crowd home with a smile.

Michael Gadd

DYMYR the band