A new album release from Simon Llewelyn Evans brings out a very personal and honest approach that blends classic folk songwriting with a little bit of alternative undertone and a lot of character so much so that by the end of the record you feel like you know this person so much more almost as if you've been sitting and talking with a friend over dinner.
The Something Real LP couldn't be titled better as the record goes through different perspectives and some songs even feel like they serve as chapters in the artist's life.
Listening to this album is like reading a good book and you're able to sort of step out of your own reality and escape into another one for a good chunk of time which is something that I find a rarity these days but with this release, it comes so naturally you don't even notice it's happening till it's over.
Songs come through impactful and with heavy-handed persona as they tell stories sometimes in great detail and it's something that you become attached to very quickly.
The best way to listen to this record is by putting on a pair of headphones and being alone with it.
Don't get me wrong, several songs stand on their own two feet very well as singles however, this is the type of release that you listen to from beginning to end because that's the way it was meant to be soaked in.
It would be like watching a few scenes of a movie and then not finishing it.
Some tracks come through strip down and very one-on-one feeling While others have additional more lush instrumentation so that they become vast but all in all this record has more heart than anything else and I think that may be the most important aspect of it.
Everything is connective and confluent throughout the record and at times it feels almost like a live performance because of the sort of energy and tonality that it gives off.
I love this aspect because it just adds to that one-on-one feel even more.
Some of these tracks even feel like they could have been cathartic for Simon to record and release because it feels like some of the stuff is emotional drive and you needed to get certain things off of his chest.
I always kind of idolized musicians of this nature for that kind of stuff.
Just being able to articulate the words and be able to put them out there into the world like this is to me kind of a little incredible.
In Simon's case, it feels completely natural like he's been doing it his whole life and for all I know he probably has been.
This record is gracefully performed and beautifully woven as there was certainly a lot of attention to detail here but even through all of that, it never loses that soul and it never loses that heart that it was built from in the first place.
I became attached to this record because for me it was more of an experience than just an album especially if you go all the way through it which again, I can't stress enough, this is the way to listen to it.
The guitar playing is excellent and certain songs give me very classic Folk singer-songwriter vibes.
At times he makes me think of artists like Nick Drake for example.
If you don't know who that is, you probably shouldn't even be reading this article.
Just kidding, check out Nick Drake too.
What I mean is, it's like listening to a combination of something that was released in the 70s and right now because there's a certain aesthetic that's built into the sound of this record that shows face every once in a while, and that aesthetic lets you know that Simon and deed is an old soul.
For anyone who's got a true love for music that makes you think, feel, or even makes memories of your own pop into your head at random, this record is 100% for you.
I'm giving this a 9 out of 10 straight up.
A beautiful record from beginning to end.