Alan Garmonsway Releases A Blend of Songwriting Styles and Plenty of Sentiment
Alan Garmonsway has a new record out, and this set of songs really manages to deliver a soiree of warm tones backed by elements of rock, folk, contemporary, jazz, and more, all packed into this really sort of expansive and immersive album.
I think this is one of those opuses that an artist gives once every decade. I feel like it's a record that gives you pieces of who Alan is as a person, as he tells stories with a wonderful sort of elegance, but also gives you those moments of clarity where you realize everything you're hearing comes from some real place.
This is what makes the songs very connective, in my opinion.
This is also a very robust record in terms of its instrumentation, as it brings forth all kinds of acoustic and electric instruments, and blends different approaches together in terms of the songwriting and even genre.
I think this has to do with the music Alan has been inspired and influenced by over the years coming together, and him allowing those influences to sort of flow through him so that he's creating a record that isn't just stuck on one sound.
The album is dubbed An Elephant In The Room, and it kicks off with a song called "Good To Be Free", which absolutely introduces you to some of his descriptive storytelling in terms of lyrics.
His lyrical approach literally lets you envision things as he sings them. He can be so detailed, and you can tell that it's a song that he thought a lot about in terms of its sentiment. It's a song about how good it actually is to be free. Just out in the open, in nature, as a person.
It's the kind of song that lets us remember things like that when we often take them for granted.
The cool thing about this track is that it leans towards a bit of a rock vibe. There are layers of guitars, some clean and some a bit distorted, with a sort of gritty fuzz tone that reminds you of classic rock.
It's the changes that really reach out and grab you on this one.
Then we have the title track, which feels super theatrical to me. It's got a very unique sort of jazz-driven rhythm; it bops, and he's very vibrant vocally on this one.
That first track had much more subtle and delicate style vocals because it was a bit existential in a sense.
This one is more in your face and has a boisterous kind of vocal approach that comes in with a bunch of color and energy.
You can tell he was having fun on this one, and the songwriting is brilliant here because, again, it feels like the scene or an act in a play.
You can't help but sort of move to the rhythm of this one as well. A lot of these songs either give you rhythmically addictive approaches or in-depth storytelling that has a more cinematic backing. Either way, you're getting something you can really chew on.
"Countdown to Life" has a bit more of a classic folk feel to it. It reminds me of something Simon and Garfunkel would have released. It's got this really bright but acoustic feel with layers of crisp guitars and vocal harmonies coming through almost the entire time.
You can hear other acoustic instrumentation coming in later on in the track, which comes through with a huge lushness and lets the song still feel vintage in terms of its tone, in a way, but also adds a thickness to everything. There's nothing like loads of acoustic instrumentation creating layers to build a sound out. It's something that you get sucked into in terms of tone and texture.
He pulls this off semi-often throughout the record as well. I feel like there was a lot of attention paid to that element. He really dug into the elements of layering tone so that you have songs that felt big and sort of surrounded you.
Much of the record is brilliant not just for telling stories, which is a huge part of this album, but for creating soundscapes that wrap around you and pull you into the record, putting you in the moment with the songs a lot of the time.
The closing track, "Soulful City In The Sky", was one of my favorites, simply because you really hear that classic rock laid on thick.
You have great guitar work, addictive vocals that give an air of mystery in a sense, and organs that fill that space. This one feels authentically like it was released somewhere in the late 70s or something.
It's got that classic aesthetic to it, but not in the same way as the folk ones do.
I think it's awesome how he's able to dip into these different genres the way he does and still portray this sort of old soul element all the time, no matter what the style or genre may be on the record.
This is a record you listen to all the way through. It is 10 tracks, and the whole thing is well worth your time, especially if you like songs that have personality and character, tell some great stories, send messages that you can connect with or at least relate to, and paint pictures.
This is a very in-depth kind of record, and I suggest you get going. Jump into this one now, and you'll see exactly where I'm coming from with it all. I think this one will affect you.
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