Written
by Daniel Boyer, posted by blog admin
Move
over singer/songwriters. James Blunt,
Chris Daughtry, John Mayer, sure they all have their appeal with only Blunt’s
mingling of styles, structures and instrumentation being in a somewhat close
ballpark to the review subject, Thomas Abban.
In A Sheik’s Legacy, 21-year
old Minneapolis man Abban has them all beat.
Though this shapeshifting, chameleon-like debut album is best listened
to straight from track 1 to 15 without interruption, comparing its opening and
closing track is a great way to get a hint of just how exciting of a ride that
you’re in for.
Opener
“Death Song” straddles a fence of sweeping, acoustic street busk and raucous
yet classy 70s rock. It leaves a
psychedelic, surging and ethereal imprint on the mind with its sheer number of
vocal/instrumental mood changes but when you stack it up against closer “Born
of Fire” and its somber cellos, piano and swinging electric guitar drones n’
licks, well you can still tell the handiwork is Abban’s but the flavors have
uniquely individual spices that separate them.
This
unwillingness to settle down into one mode or dumb down to fit flavor of the
week subgenre’s is what gives Abban’s work its resonance and A Sheik’s Legacy its instant effect on
the eardrums.
He
never plays the same tune twice. One
moment you’ll get the overcast atmospheres and emotionally devastating
acoustic/electric, quiet/loud bursts of “Symmetry & Black Tar,” “Time to
Think” or “Echo” and then suddenly the manic pacing, deliciously in-the-red
drumming aggression, frantic electric guitar flurries and falsetto, street
preacher vocals will die down and be reborn with cautious mid-tempo, dreamy
time-keeping, melancholy acoustics and introspective vocal harmonies in songs
like “Sinner,” “Let Me Tell You Something” or “Lord”, a song that features the
album’s most daring vocal performance. But Thomas doesn’t stop there. With only half of the songs mentioned in this
review, one still hasn’t even touched on the true range of the album. Whenever Abban isn’t relishing purely quiet,
soothing gems or finding that sweet spot in the quiet/loud dynamic, he’s
playing with all abandon; axing his way through a forest of tangled, Redwood
bending guitars riffs across oaken numbers like “Fear,” “Aladdin” and
“Uh.” Every single element that a rock
fan could hope to hear on an excellent, eclectic album can be found right
here…crystal clear and diamond sharp.
Along the way he dabbles with symphonic stringed instruments (violin,
cello), toys with keyboard/piano/organ texture-work and even provides a
specialized take on vintage, Americana music with the punchy, moonshine makin’,
acoustic guitar jabs of a country tune like “Don’t You Stay the Same.”
There
is simply no defining or categorizing A
Sheik’s Legacy neatly. Every inch of
this album will yield no atmospheres to acclimate to. You are not guaranteed an easy listen but
once you take in and bask in the many components of Abban’s songwriting
standards and fiercely original musical/vocal quirks, you ARE guaranteed a
rewarding listen. Everyone should put an
ear to this record and challenge themselves to discover a daring new artist.
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