Trent Gentry
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Stars - Trent Gentry Album Review
Album Review
Trent Gentry, a 22-year old singer-songwriter from Austin has led quite an active showbiz life already. He toured the US with the Barney show-yes, the purple dinosaur- between the ages of 10 and 12, in the process learning violin from a ballet dancer and taking it further by returning to Dallas and finishing school, taking in some music theory and learning guitar along the way. He moved to Austin 3 years ago in order to help his music career take off and according to his Myspace page, is finally ready to truely let us listen to him.
The album kicks off with "They", a track that starts with a reggae-tinged drum roll, slides into John Martyn-esque guitar and is overlaid with some smooth jazzy vocals; despite this mixture of styles, it avoids sounding hotch potch. So when our hero Trent says his musical influences are so diverse that a new genre may need to be named after him, it is partly his natural 22-year old bombast rearing its head and partly the truth.
Second track " According to You" has some sensuous flirting strings, as does "Reprieve" a bit later on in the album. "Aviary" is for me one of the stand out tracks on this album, piano-led by Trent who says he could play a "mean Fur Elise on piano by age 9". This is a song about being in love and that butterfly feeling. Trent's feelings are so emphatic that he has a full range of airborne wildlife in him-birds, bees AND butterflies. As he sings "I am your aviary, baby", you can't help feeling jealous of the lucky thing that had this song written about them. I haven't seen a picture of this guy but he sounds like he'd look a little bit sexy...
Title track "Stars" is a beautiful ballad with minimalistic arrangement. It is a simple lovesong, and all the more touching for its simplicity.
In "Brother, Brother" the Texan roots come through a little with Hispanic guitar dancing lightly over a brooding bass line and haunting Hammond organ, electric guitar snarling at points. This song deals with the serious topic of homophobia: "brother, brother/only fools know hate" being the instrumental line of the chorus.
Another stand out track for me is "In Circles" with an almost Joni Mitchell-type lyrical rhythm, evocative of the river that swirls in circles at the beginning of the song. A short song, but incredibly sweet nonetheless. "The Bedroom" tells of that gut-wrenching pain of having lots of everyday things around you that hold memories of a relationship that has just broken up-the opening lines being "your face/has graced this pillow case/the L word was said in this very bed/in this bedroom", all the more painful as it is a tale of a love that is forbidden by family and friends.
This is a low-key album, perfect for a Sunday morning lying in bed. Trent Gentry is certainly a talented young fellow, and I think we should all be thankful that with a voice like his, we didn't lose him to a boyband; with that guilty Barney secret, it could so easily have happened.
