Candyrat records recently released Urban Echoes Vol1, an album of music performed by the young Welsh guitarist, Gareth Pearson. This twelve-track opus consists of some of Pearson's original compositions as well as cover adaptations of pop and rock songs, a key influence on his work.
Pearson is a guitarist of considerable ability (see the Candyrat Videos posted on Youtube of his performances, or visit the Candyrat website to listen to excerpts from the album tracks.) These intimately-miked recordings pick up every fretboard squeak and demonstrate Pearson's considerable technical ability together with his strong lyrical sensibility. The sound is warm and resonant, sometimes reminiscent of church organs and harp music.
The Album Tracks
Blue Smoke is the first track and opens the album with a flourish. This fast-paced piece features a mixture of Spanish-style guitar together with bluesy influences. The phrasing is clean and there is nice use of slides and bends. Buddy Holly, a cover of the 1994 Weezer hit has a relaxed swagger about it and a gently insistent syncopated rhythm. It features some very bright and clean harmonics. Chinese Whispers features gentle arpeggios and demonstrates a light touch by Pearson. The fretboard slides and squeaks are a prominent aspect of this piece.
Every Time We Fall is a gentle piece and features the addition of bowed strings, which provide much of the melody. The soaring strings combine well with the guitar to produce smooth, sonorous textures. Thriller, a cover of Michael Jackson's 80's smash hit, complete with excellent wolf-howl samples is built over a jazzy pizzicato bass-line. This track features a nice contrast of high and low notes and is the funkiest track of the album. Little Rogue features a flourish of cleanly articulated notes and combines a classical guitar style with interesting rhythmic touches. This is a standout piece and showcases Pearson's skills to the full.
My Fragile Dancer is a soft gentle piece, closely miked to pick up all of the guitar's resonance together with every fretboard squeak. The main theme has a harp-like style to its florid presentation. Radiohead cover Paranoid Android is a moodier piece in several sections. It is true to the prog-rock style of the original, and the guitar sometimes has an almost electric sound. MGMT cover Time to Pretend again shows off the cleanness of Pearson's articulation. This piece is highly lyrical and makes use of the guitar's full pitch range, including bright plucked harmonics.
Billie Jean, another Michael Jackson cover, like Thriller has its melody set over a continuous, insistent bass-line. This moody, medium tempo piece comes without the fretboard squeaks that are such a feature of the album sound. Another moody minor key piece, Adrenaline Rush has its melody embedded in a flurry of arpeggios. This is another piece that displays Pearson's technical skills to the full. Beauty of Discipline is a the closing track. A gentle piece with an easygoing rhythm and which creates an ambient wash of resonant sound.
Conclusion
Pearson is clearly a guitarist of great technical ability and flair with a big future. He can play fast, but it is in the cleanness of his playing - apparent particularly in the song covers - where his abilities really stand out. Melodic lines sound sharp and are beautifully articulated. These clear, intimately-miked recordings showcase his talents well. While his style might sometimes be too laid-back for some tastes, Urban Echoes Vol1 demonstrates much originality and some very fine guitar work.
Rating: 8 out of 10.
Tom Howkins - Hi, My name is Tom Howkins and I joined Suite101 in March 2010. I am keen to promote good films and good music, while warning people ...
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