Tonight the review desk turns towards South African musician Steve Louw and his fourth solo album, “Traces of the Flood.” Released on May 15, 2026 and produced by Kevin Shirley, the record settles comfortably into storytelling rock, blues, and Americana territory from one of South Africa’s premier musicians and founder member of Big Sky.
I will dip into the press release for you, and then deliver the review…
“Steve Louw’s 2026 album, “Traces of the Flood,” is a ten-track sonic adventure where each track etches into your aural subconscious, delivering some of the South African singer-songwriter and guitarist’s most confident work to date.
Arriving at the studio with “18 songs that were in shape,” Steve recalls, and as is true of the past three album recordings, everyone set to work. Armed with a mix of songs written more recently and a balance of older work, only ten made the cut during the Traces of theFlood sessions.With absolutely no agenda as to which way this record was going to realise itself, Steve explains his approach, “Train Don’t Run” (From 2021’s Headlight Dreams) and “Traces of the Flood” are like brothers. Still, you would not know that unless I told you, and they were written simultaneously in 2019, so “Traces of the Flood’s’” time only revealed itself in the making of this album.
On “Echo Dream”, “we cut that track with three acoustic guitars,” Steve recalls. “Me, Boband Doug, and while we were doing that, Greg Morrow did a few drum parts, and that was it. Then, Bob added an electric guitar part, and it was complete.”Another standout track on “Traces of the Flood” is “Time to Move”. “The band felt it; I didn’t think I’d do that song if only because I thought it wasn’t ready, but when we started playing it, we fell right into the song’s groove. It was the second last song we played, and after three days of jamming in the studio the song became effortless.”
My Review: The album has ten tracks and lasts just over 35 minutes.
“Traces Of The Flood” – long empty roads, dust blown from an old Cadillac and the lights dim. One of those songs that emotively connects to those bluesy rock songs of the South. Maybe this is not a song to hear on a wet morning in the UK! The guitar sound is very strong and the vocals neatly deliver that gritty vibe.
“Tumbling Down” is more of a rock ballad with some thunder in the air. It had that Chris Rea late night drive feel.
“Echo Dream” slows things down and strips things back a bit to bring this slightly dreamy feel to the musical shapes and story. It’s laid back and rhythmic.
“CBGB Xmas” – not sure I was ready for Christmas in May, but it is an upbeat little number that delivers a rock party for Santa. It is a song for putting on the high heels and joining in, and I guess it’s never too early to have a boogie!
“Angeline” brings out a bit of honky-tonk to the mix in this song about an angel (with a broken wing). It has an easy rolling style with some New Orleans groove. An enjoyable number with some mean piano.
“Light Of Day” (Woody’s Blues) – this mid-album track sways nicely to both story and a softer rock feel. I liked the backing harmonies for this track and the chorus provides an emotive moment when you think of the road ahead.
“Across The River”
‘We’ll meet across the riverside and you’ll always be mine…’ – this is an upbeat track with a more melancholic sense of lyric (at least for me- I lost someone very close to me recently so I connected to this one as a track about those we lose but are always in our hearts – which may not be the intent of the artist). I would imagine this one would work well live as it has some great instrumental moments.
“Dark Pony” was probably my favourite track on the album. It is a bit of a homage to our four legged friends who carry us along in life. I just found it to be a kind of cool track, one I’d like to hear on the radio and it slotted just fine into the album.
“Into The Night” delivers a slight change of beat/rhythm making it an interesting outlier track for the album. Again, I get some of those Chris Rea vibes. It is a track of shadows and it moves us along the darker side of the road with the beat of an early morning black coffee.
“Time To Move” is a rocky closer to the album. It has a slightly harder edge and I liked the drum sound on this one – its production (like the album as a whole) is sharp and the vocals emotively connect.
Traces of the Flood is not an album trying to shout the loudest in the room. Instead, it settles into the passenger seat beside you and lets the stories slowly unfold beneath the headlights. Thoughtful, well-produced and full of character, it is an album best experienced when the roads are quiet and the night is stretching out ahead.
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Stream music from Steve Louw here
Artist Bandcamp here
By Lorraine Foley
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