Review Summary: Is Adam Thomas the Bob Dylan of the generation? Well, the answer is OBVIOUSLY no, but he's getting there.
1 of 1 thought this review was well writtenThrough the eponymous
Love American EP of 2011, I became a huge fan of a whole new level of music that I had perhaps only clicked through on one of my lazy Saturdays at the computer; unsigned, underground and independent artists. Obviously, a music reviewer should expand his/her horizons to their maximum extent, but in my earlier years, I saw no reason to “listen to a bunch of amateurs attempt to replicate their favorite artists”, as I probably would have said in my naivety five or six years ago. In fact, prior to my discovery of
Love American, I had rarely ever tapped upon the vastness of music beyond the reaches of local-to-semi-successful independent labels, and this new gateway led forward into the territories of such amazing bands as
State Faults,
Modern American Theatre, The Kingsford Run and
Iselia. Of course, I knew this “hidden garden” of music existed, but what is the point of plucking a plant that has yet to bud from a bushel of fully grown, brightly colored roses? Well, in short, I could not have been more wrong.
Not With a Bang But a Whisper introduces the talents of
Love American’s skilful guitarist, Adam Thomas, applied to acoustic music, one of contemporary music’s most elegant and beautiful genres. The EP is a well-written, cohesive and beautifully flowing work, that, despite the production quality yielded from Thomas' bedroom self-recording, shows an enormous amount of clarity and gracefulness; these being among the countless other adjectives that I could use to hype these two songs.
From the captivating opening/“chorus” melody of the instrumental track, “Until Human Voices Wake Us and We Drown” to the last, concluding chords of “A Handful of Dust”, I was absolutely mesmerized by everything about the record. Not only is it a sincere and heartfelt expression conveyed through strong, impacting chord patterns, complex and noticeably well-polished melodies, but the emotions evidenced within Thomas’ songwriting are executed with jaw-dropping proficiency, one such demonstration being Thomas’ ability to compile multiple guitar tracks and entwine them into a single unit (evidencing Thomas’ influence from Mike Kinsella) through which the listener can tell that there is more than single instrumental track playing, though it seems as if there is only one, as the amazing mixing of the record establishes an extremely smooth flow that is bound to astound listeners who are able to pick up this impressive trait.
Interestingly, the repetitive nature of Thomas’ guitar passages are rather a strong point in the record, as they help to consolidate simplicity and beauty into the record, rather than tampering with too many unnecessary melodies. This is actually supported by the short time span of the EP, which balances the repetition of Thomas’ guitar work almost perfectly, resulting in a very strong foundation for the record. Upon this foundation, Thomas places the sentimental toning of
Not With a Bang But a Whisper, which draws its strength from both Thomas’ light-hearted, somewhat-
Owen influenced guitar playing, as well as his astoundingly effective vocals, characterized by his moderate vocal range that perfectly suits the instrumentation of “A Handful of Dust”. From this combination, none other than
Not With a Bang But a Whisper materializes, standing proudly as a record that perfectly balances melody and harmony, formulating into an essential piece of acoustic music.
And so my friends, among the endless hordes of artists who are either too obscure or too…well…crappy to be picked up by a record label, who would have thought that I would hold a one-man acoustic project,
Keep It Like a Secret, in a regard higher than almost any other?
Not With a Bang But a Whimper stands firmly on the fine line between perfection and whatever precedes it; a graceful little masterpiece that is worth far more than the nine megabytes required to download it.
Download the EP here: http://www.mediafire.com/?adtlrsbdvvablu5
Download an outtake from the EP here: http://www.mediafire.com/?bhngmqqdi6z6n74
