Aaron Waldman - A Mediocre Folk EP

​Aaron Waldman

A Mediocre Folk EP
self-released; 2016

3.4 out of 5

By Jamie Funk
​

Aaron Waldman is an artist who is entering a very competitive space with his recent EP A Mediocre Folk EP. Let's face some facts almost anybody can record music these days. All you need is a laptop with garageband, a guitar and a voice. The amount of singer/songwriters who have released material into the Internet is staggering.

Waldman is a fairly standard singer/songwriter who like the majority leans towards melancholy. He plays simple folks songs that are for the most part well delivered with lo-fi production but also treads into familiar territory.

He opens with “Glad To Be Your Friend” which is one of the more upbeat songs on the album. I can’t say Waldman has a voice that immediately grabs you because of its beautiful qualities. For me his vocals were fine to listen to but could have been better with a little more attention to delivery and production. 

“I'm Boyfriend Material” relies on a G to C chord progression. The song was a little too basic.His guitar work sounds better on “Nina's Song.” In fact “Nina's Song” is the highlight on the album. His vocals while sometimes sounding a bit too melodramatic were well delivered and sometimes emotionally resonant.

“Becky” is a quirky tune that sounds like it could be a sing-a-long while the closer “Quiet, Again” has some resemblance to Bright Eyes.

​The truth is If Waldman wants to “make it” as a performing artist he is going to have to take a look at the competition around him. In 2016 you really need more than a lo-fi recording, a couple strummed minor and major chords and a single vocal melody to catch people’s attention. In a day and age where music is more or less free folk artists like Sufjan Stevens and The Tallest Man on Earth are other folk artist’s competition. Waldman is off to a decent start but needs to be aware of the tropes out there and that more than anything else needs to find a way to stick out as more than another guy with a guitar who recorded an lo-fi album on his Macbook.

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