Review Summary: Honesty is the Best Policy
If ever a voice could mellowly intertwine itself among the ideas of childhood innocence, murder, and economic hardship all within the same album and about four minutes short of an hour, Mr. Garneau achieves this in the most compelling and sentimental of ways. The sincerity in his smooth, eccentric vox stands as a testament to a variety of internal and external struggles so that it is possible for just about anyone to find a little bit of themselves within the bounds of this emotional masterpiece.
The first noises that are heard sound something like a violin or cello being plucked, which soon become accompanied by Garneau's primary instrument, the piano. His voice melts through the soundwaves not long after the piano initiates it's waltz style vibes and the listener gets to swallow the magnificence that surrounds Garneau's songwriting. "Castle-Time" epitomizes the experience that will be had throughout the rest of the tracks as rhythms go from waltzes to smooth, accordion-like piano swells, to vibrato-filled, sustained chords, and broken, ascending sections of sheer brilliance.
The point of Chris's voice cannot be neglected, for it's abnormal. Upon the first listen or so, it seems androgynous (Christopher Garneau or Christen Garneau?) But once the ears acquaint themselves, which doesn't take long, the voice becomes nourishing and the listener consumes every word, not with a grain of salt, but with an entire ocean of salt. Lyrically, the man is a seer. He'll sing your heart out in front of you and force you to swallow yourself whole. All of your emotionality becomes more apparent than ever before. You'll soften.
The album closes with what else but a cover of arguably one of indie rock's greatest songwriters, (arguably? haha, who else could it be?) Elliott Smith. Though the track is "Between the Bars," one of Smith's more popular tunes, Garneau bleeds it forth with as much feeling as is possible for anyone other than Elliott. The piano is again employed for this final waltz with Chris and the listener is left lying on the floor with his eyes closed and his stomach churning with the force of a thousand swarms of butterflies being crushed by an incredibly strong wind. Garneau is a strong songwriter, interpreter, and musician as a whole. Not much can be said to his detriment. At least not much that is true. All around, this man is gifted and his music will most definitely please the ears of any fan of true, honest artistic expression.
