Album Review - Stuart Newman "Bored of Idiot Chatter"
One of the best things about Twitter is the ability to, at any given moment, discover an artist you've never heard of. While skimming through my timeline today, I suddenly came over all peckish to listen to something I've not heard previously. The impetus for this was a tweet from Turisas' violinist, Olli Vänskä, who mentioned seeing a new metal band from Finland last night. Alas, they are so new they only had two tracks to listen to online, and my ears were hungry for something with more substance. After a tweet seeking out suggestions of under heard artists from my followers, they began coming in, including one from Stuart Newman, about his very own EP which he offers as a free download. Headphones on...
The general rule when I do a live tweet review of an artist I've never heard before is to preview all or part of one song to get a feel for it. Stuart Newman's sound got my attention as did the EP's title, Bored of Idiot Chatter, signifying there should be a modicum of intelligence within its notes. And indeed there is.
As Stuart Newman offers this release as a free download, I will link to each track via his bandcamp page for you to check out yourself as you read this review. I do recommend listening through headphones however, as there are some wonderful vocal and aural nuances at play here. The opening track, "(We're Living In) Another Dimension" is as advertised on Stuart Newman's web site: Mellow indie rock. But that is an oversimplification. There is some fantastic vocal layering happening in this track, with a good build up. What really made this track grab my ears though is the faux live ambiance, which adds to the atmosphere nicely.
Now, were you listening with headphones? If you weren't, you missed a good portion of what makes "(We're Living In) Another Dimension" so good. Go on. Put them on and listen again. I'll be here when you get back.
There, hear what I mean? Good. Props to Stuart Newman for the crackle and static of a guitar being unplugged at the out.
Next up is "Feel the Temperature Rising", where Newman pulls a 180 with his vocals, shifting from deep, melancholic tones to a near-falsetto, but one which is controlled and rings true with his song style.
After just two songs, it is clear there is heart and thought going into this man's lyrics. Newman keeps to his higher vocal register and a straight up folkier acoustic guitar on "Head Hurts". At this point during my first listen, his fragile, higher pitched vocal style began to grow on me.
There is just a touch of the spirit of... no, not ready to make a comparison, yet. The next song, while being the shortest of the group, resulted in the most tweets of my first listen review. "Cry Wolf" requires you wear headphones to get the full effect. If you aren't wearing some you are completely missing the point. This quick, acoustic track displays Stuart Newman's vocal mid-range and the over-your-shoulder sound bites are a great touch. On first listen I thought a pop-up window had lurked in behind the bandcamp page and precisely placed "dude you gotta read this" into the song.
A simple song made much more interesting through the clever use of sound and a wonderful example of substance within a concise package.
The tag line on Stuart Newman's bandcamp page reads "...pessimist, on a good day." A perfect sentiment befitting the next song.
The closing number is an alt version of "(We're Living In) Another Dimension. The faux live ambiance is dialed back, as are the electric guitars and the overall presence of the song, resulting in a stripped down version of it without being stripped of its soul. Indeed, the lyric "Flicking through my CD collection, yeah I still got one of those" didn't resonate with me until hearing this version. I can't say I like one over the other more, as both have great qualities. One can only imagine the struggle an artist might have, choosing between versions to include on a release when both are as strong as these. Hence why they are both included here most likely.
For the price of free, if you haven't already skipped to this part or found the link yourself, go and download Bored of Idiot Chatter right now because honestly, this listen is worth retail. While I generally prefer to leave out comparisons to other artists, it is worth noting that fans of the late Elliott Smith should be among those clamoring to hear Stuart Newman. There is just a touch of the spirit of Smith to be heard here. Just enough to inform your ears there is a balladeer out in Brighton, UK that you should be listening to. Thankfully, Stuart Newman was out there, listening to Twitter tonight, because I otherwise might not have heard of him. In this age of critics and major label artists bemoaning the death of the album and creativity, it is so good to hear an independent artist like Stuart Newman, taking the time to craft something special in the recording studio.
Stuart Newman has additional sounds you can check out, via his official site or bandcamp page. On the strength of this listen, his other release, Single But Defective, has earned a slot in next month's Album August series of reviews.
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