Al Shalliker’s acoustic folk and roots music on ‘Oh Felicity’ is as usual weighted, balanced, warm, and rich. A songwriter whose name is coming to mean reliability in quality, Al Shalliker’s songs are almost always guaranteed to offer something quite beautiful.
Plymouth-based singer and songwriter Al Shalliker is a talented and sensible musician whose blend of blues, country, folk, and roots music are making a return in his new full-length album The Diamond Hill, following his 2021 debut Silver Linings. ‘Oh Felicity’ leans a bit further away from the blues and into the realms of folk.
With a deliciously warm and well-rounded acoustic guitar performance to accompany Shalliker’s gravelly and personable voice, alongside a deep and buoyant bassline and a few gorgeous ad libs from a harmonica, the instrumental landscape on ‘Oh Felicity’ is simply heartwarming. The rhythmically tight acoustic guitar performance is a wonderful showcase of Al Shalliker’s sensibilities on the instrument, and the melodies he’s delivering on ‘Oh Felicity’, with their rhythmic flow and passionate delivery, are a showcase for Shalliker’s ear for melody and for his heartful compositions.
‘Oh Felicity’ comes after a long list of singles from The Diamond Hill, with each song being just as balanced, novel, beautifully penned and performed as the ones before and after it, Al Shalliker’s efforts for this latest album has produced a set of songs that is shaping up to be quite solid. ‘Oh Felicity’ is a warm and gentle piece of folk music.