An independent voice on choice sounds from the alternative/underground music scene in Ireland.
CRAYONSMITH - WHITE WONDER
An album that has already been championed by many in the music press as one of the highlights of the year thus far, White Wonder is a treasure trove of fuzzed up melodies and infectious indie-rock. Armed with propulsive electronic beats and synth pop sounds it has all the ingredients of a solid album, and well-balanced one.
As with the highly acclaimed Stay Loose début from 2006, there is influence of Grandaddy, a touch of Sebadoh, and to a lesser extent Sparklehorse, that can be heard at various moments throughout. It's often said though, that it is a mistake to make the same album twice, and with White Wonder, bookended by the electronic beats of the White Wonder Theme, we do have an album of notable differences.
Not only does the album take on a propulsion all of its own, most notably in the Grandaddy-esque chorus of All The Elders, Ciaran Smith has also matured as a songwriter on it, and with frequent nods to themes of lost direction often delicately put, 'sometimes tired eyes just can't see clearly', the album could be considered a quaint concept album - a concept of which we had a foretaste of course with the single which preceded the album release, Lost In The Forest. Although many of the beautiful mistakes of Stay Loose are absent in White Wonder, a few more purposeful moments ensure that the album is still full of surprises, such as where the lazily warm exit song in We Sleep culminates in some crowning fuzzed up moments before it tails off back to those same electronica beats of the intro. 10/10.
Related Links:
http://www.myspace.com/crayonsmith
http://www.myspace.com/outonalimbrecords
An album that has already been championed by many in the music press as one of the highlights of the year thus far, White Wonder is a treasure trove of fuzzed up melodies and infectious indie-rock. Armed with propulsive electronic beats and synth pop sounds it has all the ingredients of a solid album, and well-balanced one.
As with the highly acclaimed Stay Loose début from 2006, there is influence of Grandaddy, a touch of Sebadoh, and to a lesser extent Sparklehorse, that can be heard at various moments throughout. It's often said though, that it is a mistake to make the same album twice, and with White Wonder, bookended by the electronic beats of the White Wonder Theme, we do have an album of notable differences.
Not only does the album take on a propulsion all of its own, most notably in the Grandaddy-esque chorus of All The Elders, Ciaran Smith has also matured as a songwriter on it, and with frequent nods to themes of lost direction often delicately put, 'sometimes tired eyes just can't see clearly', the album could be considered a quaint concept album - a concept of which we had a foretaste of course with the single which preceded the album release, Lost In The Forest. Although many of the beautiful mistakes of Stay Loose are absent in White Wonder, a few more purposeful moments ensure that the album is still full of surprises, such as where the lazily warm exit song in We Sleep culminates in some crowning fuzzed up moments before it tails off back to those same electronica beats of the intro. 10/10.
Related Links:
http://www.myspace.com/crayonsmith
http://www.myspace.com/outonalimbrecords
<< Home