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Written
by David Shouse, posted by blog admin
Jeff
Crandall has, in recent years, solidified his position as one of the most
talented vocalists working on the indie scene with the Minneapolis
headquartered band Swallows. His first solo album Deep in the Waves, released
under the banner of J.Briozo, marks his fullest emergence yet as an individual
songwriting force to be reckoned with and the stylistic range defining the thirteen
song release comes off so well, surprisingly, in part thanks to the presence of
his Swallow band mates on an assortment of cuts. His ability to convincingly inhabit an array
of musical skins on this album is one of its chief strengths, but it’s primary
allure comes from the unfettered inspiration that’s palpable on nearly every
cut. Crandall sounds utterly committed to the material, even in its most laid
back or relaxed moments, and it makes Deep in the Waves one of 2017’s most
invigorating listens.
There’s
a brooding atmosphere pervading much of Deep in the Waves without ever coming
off as too heavy handed. The first song “Blind” isn’t emblematic of the album
as a whole, but it does embody much of the album’s emotional tenor. The muted
instrumentation of “Blind” is centered on keyboards and percussion with some
effects skewing the sound in an idiosyncratic way. Crandall’s vocal is equally
restrained, but quite evocative. He shifts gears for the album’s title track
and second song as “Deep in the Waves” has a much more organic, of the moment
sort of sound than the comparatively well rehearsed performance we hear with
the opener. This song, as well, highlights the merits of the album’s production
as it achieves impressive density while balancing the various instruments in a
near ideal way. The vocal production for the song “Beautiful Mess” is
especially impressive during the song’s second half, but it all begins with the
first class and immensely emotive vocal Crandall provides the track. It’s even
more “folky” sounding than the title tune and has a relaxed elegance that proves
hard to resist. One of the album’s effective forays into guitar driven rock
comes with the song “Spinning Out” and the potential in such a suggestive title
gets fully exploited by Crandall. It’s a hard-edged track with plenty of six
string fireworks to draw in fans of that style.
The
lyrical tilt of “Rain Song” has just enough hints of psychedelia in the
arrangement to give it a pleasingly alien quality but, at its heart, it’s
another simple yet effective singer/songwriter track powered by acoustic
guitar. “Las Cruces” has a surprisingly theatrical quality and a slow burning
character that comes more and more alive as the song progresses. Crandall
excels here with a particularly considered, yet impressively natural,
performance. His penchant for seemingly losing himself in the music continues
with his hushed, almost reverential performance on the song “Firefly”. The gossamer
like interplay between the percussion, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar
used for effect weaves quite a spell and somehow manages to hold together
despite its dream-like texture. The last song for this superb album, “Sun Sun
True”, is a messy and woozily inspired final guitar workout with a wide open
Crandall vocal and strong drumming. It’s a memorably upbeat ending for an album
that does travel some through shadows and puts an emphatic exclamation point on
the personal statement Jeff Crandall makes with the release of this solo debut.
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