While listening to Aaron Schroeder 's latest album, Black & Gold, I started out trying to pinpoint a genre, as I do when I listen to any album for the first time. Alt-country, I say to myself, while listening to "The Mississippi Line" (not to mention a track titled "Emmylou"). Nope, it's piano-driven pop, I decide, as "Fake Crimes" begins to play. I give up in delighted frustration. This isn't to say the album lacks cohesion -- quite the opposite, really. The 22-year-old, a native of Washington, is amazingly adept at smoothly fitting together a number of influences and genres, and he's got a voice as good as any of his well-established contemporaries and is a talented songwriter (sample lyrics: "When she smiles, says 'I missed you like the snow misses salt'"). This makes for a really strong album full of infectiously catchy, generally upbeat songs (i.e. the album's killer opening pop song, "What We Don't Know") that you'll appreciate more and more each time you play it. And you will play it more than once.
We'll keep you posted -- once the album is out, a west coast tour may be in the works.
LISTEN:
"What We Don't Know" [MP3]
"Call Out To Me" [MP3]
ON THE WEB:
Aaron Schroeder's website
Aaron Schroeder's MySpace
Letterbox Records' MySpace
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2 comments:
boo bear, i didnt mean to bitch about the rilo kiley post. that doesnt mean i dont love you! i took a centrum instead of a chill pill today.
yeahhhh, it's cool, 'twas an unnecessary post, and i'm trying to stop posting every 2 seconds. don't know, maybe it's compulsive. keep pill popping, whoever you are!
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