This week's article is a review of an Alt-Country album. It's not a genre I listen to very often, but this one warrants attention. The self-titled Broken Muse (available at bandcamp) is the debut release from this septet of friends. Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Goodwin, it combines a more traditional Country sound with rock elements and modern recording clarity. While it does contain some rock elements, the result doesn't sound like Contemporary Country which often sounds like rock/pop with a slide guitar and/or southern accent thrown in.
Just within the first three tracks we get a wide variety of sounds: All You Want sounds very traditional, Have It Your Way rocks out, and Holiday has a more loungy feel. Despite being so different, there is a cohesive sound to them and none of them feels out of place on the album.
I'm not an expert in this kind of music due to limited exposure to it. But I'll go out on a limb and say that the chord structures are varied and more complex than I've heard in similar music. There are a lot of interesting transitions in many of the songs, though Veils of Rain is one of my favorites in this regard.
Two other unusual tracks are Broken which has surprisingly heavy drum work and Black Wave which wanders into Ambient territory. Neither wanders so far as to sound out of place; they just add more interesting variety to the collection.
Beyond my usual attention to formalistic details in music, these tracks are just good songs. There's a difference between the kinds of composition that go on the types of instrumental music I usually listen to and actual songs that are meant to communicate more with lyrics. What sets this album apart is that it's clear to me that they have paid equal amounts of attention to both the lyrical/sung content and the instrumental content that backs it up.
The album was recorded live, and it shows that the musicians are very comfortable with their instruments, the material being performed, and each other. We very much get the sense that this is a band performing, and not just a collection of musicians. There's a certain sound some bands have that seems to come from long familiarity with each other. I first noticed this with a Moody Blues song released over 40 years after their earliest work was published, The Swallow from 1999's Strange Days album. (YouTube link) This particularly shows in the instrumental jam at the end. I get this same sense of familiarity from the members of Broken Muse.
I'll close by saying that I recommend giving this a listen whether or not it's ordinarily the kind of music you listen to. It's well-crafted, varied, and heartfelt.
Just within the first three tracks we get a wide variety of sounds: All You Want sounds very traditional, Have It Your Way rocks out, and Holiday has a more loungy feel. Despite being so different, there is a cohesive sound to them and none of them feels out of place on the album.
I'm not an expert in this kind of music due to limited exposure to it. But I'll go out on a limb and say that the chord structures are varied and more complex than I've heard in similar music. There are a lot of interesting transitions in many of the songs, though Veils of Rain is one of my favorites in this regard.
Two other unusual tracks are Broken which has surprisingly heavy drum work and Black Wave which wanders into Ambient territory. Neither wanders so far as to sound out of place; they just add more interesting variety to the collection.
Beyond my usual attention to formalistic details in music, these tracks are just good songs. There's a difference between the kinds of composition that go on the types of instrumental music I usually listen to and actual songs that are meant to communicate more with lyrics. What sets this album apart is that it's clear to me that they have paid equal amounts of attention to both the lyrical/sung content and the instrumental content that backs it up.
The album was recorded live, and it shows that the musicians are very comfortable with their instruments, the material being performed, and each other. We very much get the sense that this is a band performing, and not just a collection of musicians. There's a certain sound some bands have that seems to come from long familiarity with each other. I first noticed this with a Moody Blues song released over 40 years after their earliest work was published, The Swallow from 1999's Strange Days album. (YouTube link) This particularly shows in the instrumental jam at the end. I get this same sense of familiarity from the members of Broken Muse.
I'll close by saying that I recommend giving this a listen whether or not it's ordinarily the kind of music you listen to. It's well-crafted, varied, and heartfelt.
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