Sunday, June 15, 2008

Tamas Wells - Two Years In April

Release Date: 05/16/08
Genre: Indie Folk

How strange. After going home from a mini-party where I gave the hostess my current album of the year (Frightened Rabbit), I discovered this album on a music blog. Don't you love it when you blindly download something based solely on the name and it turns out to be good?

Review: So this dude made an album with 10 songs that all carry its own weight. It's actually really ridiculous how simple his music is, but I'm drawn into them all. His voice is like a boy, but none of that typical poppunk emo voice. He just sounds young. Maybe whipery at times, but it's mostly a breeze of fresh air.

Opening track "Fine, Don't Follow a Tiny Boat for a Day" has a nice steady back and forth movement in the melodies and the guitars sparkle vibrantly. "I Want You to Know It's Now or Never" uses a banjo and it's more upbeat this time. I again, like his singing style. He just doesn't stop and the banjo playing is always there. Guitars begin to pluck towards the end giving it more texture. Very simple, but effective.

"Three Courses and an Open Canoe" is a melancholy tune. I like how the second guitar enters and the simpleness of it makes the song more beautiful. "For the Aperture" begins similar to track 2. I'm running out of words now. Again, it's the flow and deliver of his vocals that gives off much of the melodies.

"Sanctuary Green" is sounds optimistic. His vocals just flutter out. Then for almost 2 minutes, vocals are gone and it's just music. Simple music, but nice thinking music.

"Writers from Nepean News" is probably my favorite. The song just spells out love. Follow it with the highly memorable "The Day that She Drowned, Her Body Was Found." I can't find the lyrics right now so I don't know what it's about. Tamas's vocals here really blended with the music and I don't really hear his words. Just nice lush air.

The final two song are great. And that's about it. So for 32 minutes, this guy made a pretty good album without over doing it. He's smart for ending it before I got sick. The album is simple, but his high points outshines the low. The songs do sometimes feel like it's the same idea, but that's bound to happen with the simplicity of the music. Also, the vocals are the same throughout, but it doesn't bother me when he does it. It's nice.

Summary: Great voice. Great melodies. Simple music, but there's enough subtle instrumentations all around to keep it feeling interesting. I wouldn't be surprise if another Garden State or Juno comes along heavily featuring Tamas Wells' music.

Key Track: Writers from Nepean News, The Day that She Drowned, Her Body Was Found, Signs I Can't Read
Rating: 8/10

No comments: