Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders - Word Gets Around (2019)

The fruit of their collective labour is ‘Word Gets Around’, a nine-song album recorded in both Davidson’s kitchen, and then at The Oven at The Lab studios in Auckland with Jol Mulholland on drums, and Davidson and Saunders on all other instruments.

‘Word Gets Around’ covers familiar ground, falling squarely in the country-blues-Americana-garage rock axis that both musicians work in, and little touches like the harmonica and whistling on the storming Out of Our Hands, the driving rhythmic chug of Saunders’ Stolen River, and the lyrically metaphorical, more traditional country song-crafting of Long Way Home emphasise the genres close to their hearts.

Although not providing many surprises, the match of Davidson and Saunders is a good fit, and they play off each other in both songwriting and delivery, bringing out each other’s strengths – Davidson giving Saunders a noir edge, while Saunders returns the favour by adding melodic hooks, and an occasional weary worldview.

Davidson and Saunders are clearly enjoying themselves here, making ‘Word Gets Around’ an album that is as much fun to listen to as it clearly was to create.