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| "What I Cause" available now! |
More than anything else, the best
reason to hear Ryan Davis' new
record is to be reminded that
there is real musical diversity
coming from independent East
Texas songwriters.
reason to hear Ryan Davis' new
record is to be reminded that
there is real musical diversity
coming from independent East
Texas songwriters.
With brooding lyrics and extremes of tempo and volume, the
emotionally-fraught songs are not intended for easy listening,
background, or driving music. The lead track, "Drown Again" starts
slow and builds up slower, with a melancholy blues riff that repeats and
multiplies and evolves into a gritty melody in counterpoint with an
austere cello bass line.
And so it goes for the rest of the album. Stomp boards, electric cellos,
mandolins and piano lines add complicated textures to an already
moody soundscape. Each listen offers something new to notice and
pay attention to.
One thing you can't help paying attention to is Davis's singing, which
at times could pass for Kurt Cobain's wrenching wails and, at other
times, hovers softly above a whisper. Davis exacts fine control over his
raspyness and the precise pitches at which his vocals crack. His
chameleonic vocals are a kind of barometer for the intensity of the
music, indicating upcoming storms of intensity.
The 11 tracks follow each other in a carefully considered order,
resisting the increasingly popular tendency to hear single tracks on
customized playlists. The record boasts a brief cello-only interlude
dividing the record into rough halves, whose semantic distinctions are
best left for the listener to determine.
In short, the record sounds like little else you might hear. And even as
the themes and motivations for his songs are universal (sadness,
longing, boredom, restlessness), the images of Nacogdoches and
Austin that pepper the album art suggest a local hue to colorize the
sound.
Davis is a Nacogdoches-based artist who did most of the work on this
moving album by himself, as the liner notes proudly exclaim. And for
that, the locals ought to be proud themselves.
By MATTHEW STOFF
The Daily Sentinel
Nacogdoches, TX
emotionally-fraught songs are not intended for easy listening,
background, or driving music. The lead track, "Drown Again" starts
slow and builds up slower, with a melancholy blues riff that repeats and
multiplies and evolves into a gritty melody in counterpoint with an
austere cello bass line.
And so it goes for the rest of the album. Stomp boards, electric cellos,
mandolins and piano lines add complicated textures to an already
moody soundscape. Each listen offers something new to notice and
pay attention to.
One thing you can't help paying attention to is Davis's singing, which
at times could pass for Kurt Cobain's wrenching wails and, at other
times, hovers softly above a whisper. Davis exacts fine control over his
raspyness and the precise pitches at which his vocals crack. His
chameleonic vocals are a kind of barometer for the intensity of the
music, indicating upcoming storms of intensity.
The 11 tracks follow each other in a carefully considered order,
resisting the increasingly popular tendency to hear single tracks on
customized playlists. The record boasts a brief cello-only interlude
dividing the record into rough halves, whose semantic distinctions are
best left for the listener to determine.
In short, the record sounds like little else you might hear. And even as
the themes and motivations for his songs are universal (sadness,
longing, boredom, restlessness), the images of Nacogdoches and
Austin that pepper the album art suggest a local hue to colorize the
sound.
Davis is a Nacogdoches-based artist who did most of the work on this
moving album by himself, as the liner notes proudly exclaim. And for
that, the locals ought to be proud themselves.
By MATTHEW STOFF
The Daily Sentinel
Nacogdoches, TX
| contact: info@ryandavismusic.com |
| Undone |
| Ryan Davis - Bob Schneider - Adam Lamar Hotel Fredonia - Nacogdoches, TX 7/17/09! |
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| Ryan Davis - Ian Moore Live in concert 2/22/09! |
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