OFFICIAL: http://www.gracefreeman.net/
Written
by Frank McClure, posted by blog admin
The
beauty of Grace Freeman’s eleven song solo debut Shadow is undeniable, but its
power may be underrated on a first listen. Freeman has a soft, dream-like voice
that could lull any living thing into a pleasurable state, but the rougher-hewn
material on the album draws a quiet strength out of her voice that matches her
frequent use of a band, particularly strong drumming, and conveys some of the
more desperate lyrics with a head up, eyes looking skyward defiance that
communicates nothing will hold or keep her down for long. The album is built
primarily around acoustic guitar and Freeman’s voice, but she brings other
important instruments into the mix and the variation they lay on Shadow makes
it a deeper, richer musical experience. This as memorable of a first solo
release as Freeman could have hoped for.
“Oliver”
starts off Shadow in a low-key, albeit rather dark, sort of way. The acoustic
guitar passages and vocal weave a delicate spell without ever rendering things
too exquisite – this never sounds like a beautiful butterfly trapped under
glass but, instead, a breathing musical composition that moves from the first
and never risks anything resembling self-indulgence. “Shadow” has a similar emotional
feel but a weightier heft thanks to the assertive drumming and bass playing
that gives the song a definite bottom end. This gives listeners the first
inkling of that aforementioned quiet strength she can bring to her performances
and it proves to be an entertaining, if not exactly cheerful, listen. The
musical mood picks up with the song “Trying to Say Goodbye” and the poppier aspects
of the performance never cheapen her musical goals. Instead, this would likely
serve as an excellent song to introduce newcomers to Freeman’s talents.
“Another
Long Night” has some sterling writing powering its lyrics and a thoughtful
musical arrangement that complements her voice and the words. It is, certainly,
another less than cheerful number, but there’s little doubt about the heart
invested in this performance and how freely Freeman gives herself over to the
song. “Dreams” is, somewhat, reminiscent of the earlier “Trying to Say Goodbye”
and the musical lilt fueling its mood offers us a nice respite from the heavier
material on Shadow. Another memorable turn with the writing comes on the track “Muddy
Puddles” as Freeman shows her talents for using metaphor to deepen a song’s
impact. “God Forbid” combines the best of the album’s singer/songwriter side
with the commercial inclinations detected in tracks like “Trying to Say Goodbye”
and “Dreams”. The lyrical material is, definitely, Freeman at her rawest, but
her artful touch with words remains intact. The album’s penultimate track, “Mountain’s
Peak”, has a wonderfully balanced combination of concrete imagery and
suggestive passages allowing the audience to form their own interpretations.
Shadow has a lot of different musical faces and Freeman handles them all with
unwavering confidence.
No comments:
Post a Comment