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Written
by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin
It’s
impossible to pin down J. Briozo on his first full-length solo album, Deep in the Waves. The visionary singer/songwriter responsible
for this recording is Jeff Crandall; lead vocalist and lyricist for the
Minneapolis-bred, off-the-wall roots rockers Swallows. Jeff’s work in that band has been lauded with
critical and listeners’ acclaim alike, and as the band prepared to record their
new album (In the Shadow of the Seven
Stars) Crandall found a set of his own songs forming in his mind. The result is 12 dangerously unique, oblique
earworms that evade genre trappings and show completely no concern for style,
labels or anything else that’s the basis for a lot of modern music.
Kick-off
track “Blind” is a theatrical piece rich with moody musical drama. Jeff’s vocals glide melodically over clouds
of reverb-drenched, meditative guitar loops while a laidback percussive pulse,
a deep bass presence and brooding keyboards shade in the foreground and
background. It’s an interesting way to
start the album and is somewhat the result of combining Portishead’s psychedelic
trance with blues, pop, chamber music and post-rock ambience. Quite frankly it’s a boundless sound that
gives tradition the cold shoulder. The
song’s most immediate counterpart (the title track) summons a similar vibe but
swaps the majority of the keyboard components for acoustic strum and string
quartet symphonies (cello, viola, etc. are the lead elements). “Beautiful Mess” dials down some of the
experimentalism for a hugely memorable, pop-leaned chorus with beautiful,
serene vocal melodies from Crandall and folky acoustic strum giving way to
fuzzy electric guitars, driving drum clatter and several sea changes in
mood.
Acting
as a sign of things to come the electric riffage and explosive leads of
“Beautiful Mess” dives headlong into the fervent blues-rock attack presented by
“Spinning Out;” a cut that features an eclectic mesh of acoustic tranquility
and scorched Earth, hard rock boogie that never lets up for a second of its
playtime. Stunning vocal harmonies, a
pulsating bottom-end grind and organ flourishes cultivate a keeper of a track
that just happens to possess the album’s most memorably intoxicating
chorus. It’s practically the polar
opposite of “Rain Song,” an aural arena where Crandall’s voice quivers with a
low-key, husky blues as strings and acoustic guitar ebb and flow in streams of
understated melody. This is one of the
softest, most delicate jams amongst the 12 and as such ends up a surprise
highlight.
Elsewhere,
“The Big Parade” implants a full horn section into a hammering, hard-rock
swinger that’s exploding with acoustic/electric charm, “Catatonia” and “Las
Cruces” place folky acoustics at the forefront while leaving room for
atmospheric blues-chord bends and strings to hypnotize the mind, the quartet of
songs beginning with “Las Cruces” and ending with “Santa Cruz” cross-pollinate
heavily orchestrated chamber music with pop/folk/blues embellishments, leaving
closer “Sun Sun True” to blend guitar rock pyrotechnics into ultra-catchy,
three and four part vocal harmonies that sound like they were piped in directly
from the 70s (almost like a mixture of ingredients from
The Byrds meets The Outlaws).
Deep in the
Waves
is a staggering achievement with daring songwriting, top-notch performances and
an attentive ear put towards the production and mixing. There’s really nothing out there that it’s
directly comparable to which is a difficult feat to muster in 2017. If the idea of the best elements of the 60s,
70s and 90s all rolled into one is your idea of a good time, then you’re going
to have a field day with Deep in the Waves.
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