Andrew Vincent
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Rotten Pear - Andrew Vincent Album Review
Album Review
Canada seems to be a gold mine of musical talent, from Neil Young to Arcade Fire. Canada has a knack of producing such inspirational, original and awe-inspiring artists. Andrew Vincent seems to be a new breed of talented Canadian acts, even though he has been around for a few years; he is one of those understated, untapped artists who in an ideal world would be a lot bigger.
Formerly of the band 'Andrew Vincent and the Pirates', the multi-instrumentalist has proven on this album, he does not need the backing of a full band. Rotten Pear is Andrew Vincent's latest and fifth album, yet first solo album and what a debut. It may be more of a back to basics affair, then what you would expect from a full band like The Pirates, but going solo seems to have worked. The album is just one man and his guitar throughout most of the album, but the songs sound effortless, yet the lyrics are deep and meaningful, which help make the album a true hidden gem.
The album is also notable for a Kate Bush cover, 'Hounds of Love', ending the album. It is a lot rawer and has a slower pace than both the original and The Futureheads notable cover. Although, this is not always a good thing and it happens to be the weakest track on the album. It does not match up to the original or the cover, it is too monotonous, and does not capture the spirit of the song, because all Kate Bush songs seem to have spirit and character, yet this does not. However, there are many highlights to contrast the closing track. The album starter 'Hi Lo' is a soothing, gentle love song to gently caress the listener into the album. Into 'Nobody Else', this sees Andrew Vincent bringing electric guitars to the album, whilst still talking about love, which seems to be the dominant theme throughout. The song 'Ruffian' seems to be a biographical song, talking about Andrew Vincent's childhood, set to a gentle, yet light electric guitar hook, this song adds to Vincent's strengths of being a brilliant storyteller to music.
Rotten Pear is a good debut, solo album. Andrew Vincent has the potential to begin a folk cult following, the lyrics are meaningful and his storytelling really is second to none. However, if he wants to become more like Nick Drake or Elliott Smith, Vincent needs to broaden his horizons and think out of the box a bit, make some risks both lyrically and musically. It seems to be a very safe album. But the future looks bright for the Canadian multi-instrumentalist.
