D'ERCOLE: "No Place Like Home"

RATING: RRRR

LABEL: Phil Vincent Music

REVIEW BY: Alan Holloway

It's time to say hi to two old friends, namely guitarist Damian D'ercole and vocalist Phil Vincent. Regular readers will know of Phil Vincent, as he is well known for being a prodigious one man band, releasing many high quality releases. These days he mixes things up with co-conspirators, from the heavy Legion to Tragik, and most recently Cranston. I like to think that when Phil Vincent is involved in a project there's going to be a worthy end result, and the fourth album under the D'ercole banner is no exception.

The difference with D'ercole is that it's most definitely Damian D'ercole's baby, with Vincent acting as vocalist and producer (plus keyboards). D'ercole writes all the songs here and provides all the guitars, so naturally the sound is different to your usual Phil Vincent release. Technically there's seven songs here, but that does include 'Epic Failure', which is really four songs in one, running at 15 minutes. Personally I would rather have had them split into separate tracks for easier listening, but it doesn't take away from the fact they are four great songs. The songs in general are very melodic with some excellently placed guitars, with Vincent's vocals distinct as ever. D'ercole isn't afraid to experiment, and on 'The Walls Are Closing In' he tries interesting rhythms and a bit of funk to produce a track that really grows on you, never outstaying it's welcome in nearly seven minutes. Elsewhere there's more standard melodic fayre, none more so than 'Waiting For Your Love', which itself is part 3 of 'Epic Failure'. Seriously guys, don't do that again, as it's a song Iwould have liked on a playlist with similar ones but I can't do that.

'No Place like Home' is an eclectic and highly enjoyable album, mixing a few different styles but maintaining a coherent whole. The wimpy 'Dreamer' is the only track that had me reaching for the skip button, but even then it's not a bad track, just not really my scene. Another cracking collaboration from D'ercole and Vincent, there's no reason not to check this one out.

 Official Site