Liam Docherty is a Vancouver Island, Canada-based artist who is an official partner of Taylor Guitars. He’s been performing since the age of seven with his music running the gamut of folk, blues, funk, acoustic, pop and rock. He’s just released a new album where he’s let his electric guitar playing skills rip. It’s called Gemini Rising.
By Graeme Smith
Gemini Rising starts with its title track. It opens with a catchy looping melody that slowly builds into an expansive feeling blues rock arrangement. Liam’s vocals then come in. They’re smooth and expressive and the lyrics are rich with psychedelic imagery and poetry. It’s the type of track that will appeal to lovers of classic and modern rock in equal measure.
Southern Sky takes things in a more acoustic folk direction, but there are still plenty of guitar licks for lovers of electric. Picked Flowers is delicate, dreamy and romantic while Texas returns us to blues with touches of country. Life on the West Coast is intimate and descriptive before One Hour More rounds off the first half of the album with a grieving, folksy ballad.
Heaven Sent opens the album’s second half in an ecclesiastic manner. A choir of voices give way to a brooding, groovy blues highlight. Give It Away is a vibrant and emotional classic rock moment. Paradise Shore is a reflective, acoustic and poetic. Honey Bee gives us some late album funk. Fallen Leaves is cinematic and philosophical. Just Me closes the album with a vulnerable folk rock finale.
Liam Docherty’s skills as a guitar player are undisputed, but in this album he shows us he’s so much more than that. There are some beautiful tributes to classic rock and folk while Liam keeps things fresh and modern. His lyrics paint a vivid picture with a wonderful sense of place. It’s easy to see why he’s been generating so much buzz from a young age.
You can listen to Gemini Rising below.