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Gravenhurst: Internal Travels
There sure seem to be a lot of earnest, young men in the UK with high-pitched voices nowadays. It seems like every month theres another new Radiohead; a group that has memorized their copy of The Bends or Jeff Buckleys Grace and is trying its best to replicate some of whatever-it-is those two had because, hey, Jeffs dead, and Radiohead stopped playing basic guitar songs long ago. Its a risky proposition, because with your Travises, Coldplays, and Starsailors already going strong, whos to know when everyone will get sick of all of the navel gazing and falsetto singing? Thankfully, this debut disc by Gravenhurst, while possessing some similarities to the afformentioned bands, manages to stand on its own. From what I can gleam from the liner notes, Internal Travels is really the solo work of Nick Talbot, as he performs everything on the disc. The first thing I noticed is how good every part sounds the acoustic guitars in particular sound better than on most major label records Ive heard (read: recorded with expensive microphones and in even more expensive studios). There are other sounds used throughout, mostly delayed guitar and keyboards (at one point, horns appeared, but I couldnt tell if they were real or done on a keyboard). But the main focus is on Talbots finger- picked guitar and breathy vocals. At times almost feminine, his vocals often sound quite tentative and never overpower the lyrics. The biggest influence that I can spot is that of Nick Drake, who of course, perfected the depressed finger-picked song, and Talbot continues the tradition nicely. The songs never speed up past a slow stroll, but I cant really imagine Pink Moon turning into Paranoid Android anyway. My only real gripe with this disc is that the songs pretty much all sound the same, and, if youre not paying attention, its almost impossible to notice when one song ends and another begins. But thats a small quibble when the songs are this nice. Internal Travels is not for everyone, especially not for those sick of the high-singing Britpop scene; but for those that love it and are still looking for something slightly different, this disc is for you.
This album can be purchased at CD Street LEFT OFF THE DIAL's Gravenhurst page About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
