I love listening to new artists who obviously can’t afford Jay-Z‘s recording studio, or Kanye as a producer, but with little means still manage to produce good music consistently. I love listening to this raw, imperfect music that allows the artist’s devotion to what he does transpire. I love listening to music that is incrusted with anger, anxiety, desperation and exposes the artist’s vulnerability.
This is why I loved Californian artist Dave Smallen and his album entitled ‘Desolation‘ which he points out, was written after a tough break up. As he himself states on his website, ‘it’s definitely quite imperfect‘, and indeed there are ‘times when it feels really distorted, raw and imbalanced‘, but I would add that it certainly has soul… and well, in music I think that’s the most important thing.
Credit to Dave Smallen for producing work that is entirely in his hands, as he himself states ‘Everything on this record was written, recorded, performed, produced, engineered, mixed, what-have-you, by Dave Smallen‘. The result is particularly in line with the type of folk influenced rock that I enjoy listening to so I can now ad a new member to my usual playlist comprising Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Band of Horses etc… Most of all I really enjoy the fact this album seems to reflect Smallen‘s state of mind at a specific moment in time, it is a very personal album, and even though I have at times thought that the music reminded me at times of Two Gallants or Thurston Moore( especially for the harshness of the sound on ‘The Tower‘ or ‘Yes, I know we’re blessed‘ )I still think it manages to sound highly unique. .
I found two sides to ‘Desolation’. Whilst certain songs are very harsh, full of anger and despair, others such as ‘Desolation’ or ‘Further and Further’ are very melancholic, nostalgic pop ballads. I guess those two different view points reflect quite accurately the opposing and confusing emotions that might go through a person’s mind during a breakup.
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Post by Olivia
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