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Review Summary: Acoustic indie with minimalist leanings, Beard Logic Riddles doesn’t exceed expectations, but that isn’t such a bad thing ultimately. Debuts are curious things; it’s the artist’s first tentative steps into the music industry so it’s natural for there to be a few flaws in the finished product. Rarely are they perfect, if they are then the artist is usually either a genius or incredibly lucky. Effort must also be made to stand out in the crowd, however, it’s not enough (particularly with the economy the way it is right now) to just sit lazily back and copy what others are doing. That’s where a lot of artists get caught out, that mix of sitting comfortable with their influences and the challenge of taking them further.
In that respect, Beard Logic Riddles is nothing extraordinary, but neither is it bland and unremarkable. Nothing Rhymes With David (A.K.A David James Young) has crafted a five track EP that sits comfortably in the middle of those aforementioned issues. Its flaws are few and far between (almost non-existent to be perfectly honest), its influences are obvious yet originality isn’t absent, and the overall sound is an enjoyable one.
Take opener “Train” as an example: beginning with a mix of strummed and picked guitar before sticking to the former, it’s a good example of what’s to come in the other 4 tracks. Young’s high, nasally vocals are earnest as he sings about moving on from past mistakes (“My lesson’s ended/my lesson’s learned”) and the forceful strums emphasise the emotion, combining this with an echo effect on the vocals helps forge a raw, live feel that continues throughout the EP. There’s a clear Bon Iver influence but he’s unique enough not to be lumped in with the other imitations.
It’s on tracks like “His Girl Velocity” that NRWD pushes the envelope a little bit further by becoming more energetic with his guitar work. The result is a solid folk-rock tune with an urgency and passion that the EP benefits greatly from. It culminates towards the end of the song when Young cries out “Still I dream!” and then settles back down, finishing it with a softly spoken “I keep on smiling/and I won’t say a word”. The other example of his rock influenced style is the final song, “Everything At All”, with its head bopping and foot tapping rhythm over the top of NRWD’s now trademark unrestrained, nasally vocals.
Nothing Rhymes With David performs well in all the areas he should (lyrics, vocals and guitar work) and has created a strong debut that should propel him further up the ranks of the music industry. It should only be a matter of time before the potential present on the EP is fully realized. The rating is where it is because I am confident that Young can do better then this on his next outing. Not because this is terrible, far from it, but because more time refining his sound can only improve the end product. Beard Logic Riddles is everything we expected it to be, now let’s see just how far Young can go. I have a feeling it’s a lot further then this.
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Bitchfork (3)
Beard Logic Riddles shows that Young's ideas are all present and accounted for, but very few of them...
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Album Rating: 3.5
This was an interesting one to write.
Hopefully he likes it, I tried to stay as unbiast as possible.
I also took up Davey's advice from my last review, hopefully it shows.
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lawlz atavan's joint
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Its some god stuff man, it really is
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He has a beard? Is this getting distributed across Aussieland?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Hell yes he does.
If you want a physical copy then email your address here nothingrhymeswithdavid@hushmail.com
If you don't care if its physical or digital then he's uploaded it to rapidshare
http://rapidshare.com/files/396942556/Nothing_Rhymes_With_David_-_Beard_Logic_Riddles.rar.html
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Is it big? Hmmm, I don't like giving out my credit card details but I wanna listen to this..... argh, the dilemmas.
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i've got a signed copy in the mail ;-)
good review, but you shouldn't worry whether david "likes it or not", i'm sure he appreciates an honest critique!
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
@Phil: Its all free man, he won't charge a cent (at least, that's what he's been posting for months now, and its how I got it)
Haha, thanks Jim. I'm still waiting for my physical copy.
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i'll check it out
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Oh, but but but.... cool. I'll send him my address. I just hope it doesn't sound too much like Bon Iver.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Nah, its only a slight influence
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Much more concise Michael. Ignoring the artist, potential bias, etc..., it's a really solid review, and actually quite professionally done, so good stuff. The only thing that is missing is a few albums in the Reco by Reviewer section (on top of the Bon Iver comparison).
And yeah, I'll give this a listen. Might be a little too difficult to rate though. I know how much DavID respects my opinion & I wouldn't want to make him cry, cut off his beard, etc...
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Hey Michael, I'm confused. The track-listing has 7 tracks, while you mention it's only 5.
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so who here can actually grow a beard? i've had some mean ones in my day.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
The only thing that is missing is a few albums in the Reco by Reviewer section (on top of the Bon Iver comparison).
I've never been particularly good at that section so I tend to ignore it.
I'll add a few now, see what you think.
Hey Michael, I'm confused. The track-listing has 7 tracks, while you mention it's only 5.
Oh shit, that track listing is old. I added this album about a month ago and waited for it to be released, he must have changed the track listing in the mean time and I forgot to adjust it here. Right, editing now.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Much better
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Gonna check this out now.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Album's real cool, so is the review. Nice work.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Thanks man
| | | Album Rating: 1.0
So fucking stoked on life right now.
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