Alexander gist - Road to Aberdeen

Alexander Gist

Road to Aberdeen
self-released; 2016

3.7 out of 5

By Dom Eagle
​

Alexander Gist is a solo country/folk artist located in Colorado. His debut EP entitled Road to Aberdeen truly showcases his passion for this genre and music in general.

The six-track EP opens with “Enjoy The Rain,” which is a brief, gentle and emotive opener. A powerful chord sequence teases us, as the listeners, into this very personal and intimate track. Gist’s voice is broken, mumbling and real. That’s something which so often feels lacking in acoustic singer-songwriters. When all you are listening to is a man, or a woman, and their guitar, you just want to feel what they’re feeling. You have to feel that or the song is pointless. Here, Gist has written not only an emotional chord progression, but powerful lyrics and a performance to match them.

As if the opener were not good enough, “In The Desert” completely blew me away. Clean, electric guitar and vocals of a vastly greater production quality pummeled my ears as powerfully as such gentle, folk music could. The guitar work truly stands out on this track, frantically hurrying all over the fretboard in a tempered, quiet, but chaotic stream of arpeggio-fueled musical sounds. While trying to focus on this, I could not help but simultaneously be blown away by Gist’s standout vocals here too. His voice reaches into the heights of a stunning falsetto and powerfully bellows during the deeper, darker, colder moments of the verses.  

Passion and emotion again abound on “Gamblin’ Man of Ohio.” I’ve heard many an acoustic singer and songwriter among these reviews, but it is honestly so rare that any of them truly intrigue me. Folk musicians have a tendency to sound much the same, the more of it you listen to. Yet, Gist’s musical writing and singing style carry a certain energy and emotiveness that truly tears at the heartstrings.

​Alexander Gist has a gift that the majority of acoustic singer-songwriters do not have and that’s an original stamp on his music. You know you’re listening to him when each song comes on. I doubt I’d have trouble recognizing him from other folk singers and I further doubt that I’ll be able to shake his infectious songs from my head.

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