Haydon Spencely-Heart Strings
Knuci records 11/22/2010 release date
http://www.facebook.com/haydon.spenceley


Oh my goodness.
How I do I review an album that sounds like an amalgam of every band I ever loved back in the early 80's? This is madness, I mean there's no way Hadyon is familiar with Canadian bands like The Spoons, Rational Youth or Images in Vogue. It's doubtful he's familiar with much of the music he conjures the ghosts of on Heart Strings. I suppose using TR 606/808 samples (or perhaps even the real thing) do trigger memories of certain songs from a bygone era.
Haydon does so many things right this time. He keeps his vocals up front and well mixed/mastered, enough processing and EQ to make them clear and understandable. My criticism of his last album was that the vocals didn't take a break, there was not breathing room. This time the songs are constructed in a way that emphasizes the vocals and lyrics by having instrumental breaks that punctuate the importance of what Haydon is actually putting forth lyrically on Heart Strings.
There is a certain sense of longing in Lost My Heart that is well done, avoiding cliché and suiting the down tempo instrumental bed.
Lay It Down has an epic quality and when it ends at 2:43, it leaves you wanting more.
I'll resist the temptation to review each track, go out and buy the cd.
This is a big leap forward in musical maturity from Circles. It feels unhurried in it's execution, a man with confidence and a definite idea of what he wants to put forth before he even fires up the console for his first session.
This is a very, very solid effort

9/10

DAA

Deas Vail

Deas Vail
Birds And Cages
©2009 Mono Vs Stereo Records
www.deasvail.com


Morrissey, Prince, and Bono pretty strange bedfellows, no? They all use falsetto as a vocal device in their singing generally to add emotion or emphasis. Done sparingly, by somebody who has the vocal chops, it's a very effective and musically interesting device.

Wes Blaylock can sing, I mean, really sing. Spot on and in control, his voice is up front and given the frequency elbowroom it commands. He does sing in falsetto, weaving in and out like a soul singer filtered through an alt rock sieve he comes out on the other side sounding both convincing and in control.

The band is tight and sounds fully developed, certainly mature and locked down as only an ensemble who know each other can move. The recording is crisp, and while the bedrock is pretty traditional in terms of bass/guitar/drums, there are keys and orchestral flourishes that add interest rather than detract from their sound.

Overall it's a mid-tempo affair. It stays within the confines of vaguely introspective but without sacrificing it's brilliant sheen for a dip in the road suffered under the weight of melancholia.
My only real criticism is that it never reaches out and grabs me. The songs are very, very finely crafted and the elements that make up their sound are lacking nothing in terms of either chops or the production to show their competence. There is no “show stopper” for me on this. I seem to fall into the trap of expecting a mature or genre conscious band to break ranks for a song. I wouldn't even go that far with this, maybe one song with just solo piano and voice?

File this one under modern alt pop. Anyhow, minor quibbles over a very fine release from Deas Vail. Stay together and write your White Album next..................

8/10
Dean A Arnold
August 2010

Bill vs. NW missing parts....

*Not sure why this got cut off at the end of my last blog....
Lewis Carroll said "I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person." I think that explains some of this. It was an era and it was a fashion, and it was a mind set, and........it was my foolish heart that all conspired to allow me to actually like some of this stuff.
There's a ton of similar artists and albums from that era that were victims of cross pollenation attempts like that. It's even been suggested that The Game by Queen was their response to the revolution in music at the time.
Anyhow, I guess that sometimes music takes you back to an era, other times it just kind of stops the bus briefly and a few passengers get off and a few get on.
Cheers,
D

Billy Joel vs. the new wave

Funny how music has the ability to time warp you right back to a long gone era. I was listening to old albums the other day and pulled out Glass Houses by Billy Joel. Let me say straight away that BJ's early body of work was pretty respectable. A very gifted songwriter, perhaps the analog of across the pond's Elton John in many ways. Billy Joel's work always seemed to carry a bit of NYC swagger and a touch of the angry young artist. He could switch gears and write anything from an anthem to a respectable ballad.
Punk turned the music industry upside down. It deconstructed the myth that music could only be made by the elite or gifted. Very quickly the labels, as well as the established artists, were faced with a creative dilemma-"how do we remain relevant?" For many it didn't matter, bands like the Eagles or Journey just plowed ahead without missing a beat. For some, even a band like Fleetwood Mac, oddities like Tusk were proffered. A strange beast that contained some very contrived sounding attempts at the "new wave" sound. Very odd indeed because the "new wave" itself was a pretty limited affair in terms of bands and time frame.
So then BJ puts out Glass Houses. It's a very odd duck indeed. I would be lying if I told you I knew how old Beej was at that point but I'm guessing well into his 30's. The snappy little tunes like It's Still Rock and Roll To Me and It's Just a Fantasy try very hard to fit the blueprint of the new wave, quirky with silly subject matter and angular rhythms. It makes me blush a bit because I think I actually liked this album at one point. I have no beef with Bill over this, I'm guessing that existing in a town that churned out Television, The Talking Heads, Blondie, The Ramones, Patti Smith, CBGB's, the Bottom Line, and a myriad of others probably provided some true inspiration. And, as a gifted artist he put his spin on it but it sounds pretty funny now.
Lewis Carroll said "I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person." I think that explains some of this. It was an era and it was a fashion, and it was a mind set, and........it was my foolish heart that all conspired to allow me to actually like some of this stuff.
There's a ton of similar artists and albums from that era that were victims of cross pollination attempts like that. It's even been suggested that The Game by Queen was their response to the revolution in music at the time.
Anyhow, I guess that sometimes music takes you back to an era, other times it just kind of stops the bus briefly and a few passengers get off and a few get on.
Cheers,
D