Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Barry Shumate - An Occasional Peach

2/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Barry Shumate

​​An Occasional Peach
self-released; 2015

​3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Barry Shumate has been playing guitar for about thirty years. However on his album An Occasional Peach he also struts his skills on piano and bass to name a few of the other instruments he plays. An Occasional Peach is Shumate’s first album and fortunately he is also a skilled songwriter on top of being a good guitar player.

As I hit play listening to the first track “Autumn Smile” the first thing that came to mind was Pink Floyd. This comparison isn’t always as apparent on other songs but the similarities are eerie on the first track. It's not only the music but also his voice, which sounded like I was listening to some alternate version of “Comfortably Numb.” “Autumn Smile” even has lyrics that feel like that could have come out of The Wall. 

What's unusual is that as the album progresses there are songs that contain the more serious, cosmic even dark vibe of “Autumn Smile” and then you have a song like “The Banana Song” which is downright silly and comical. 

On “The Banana Song” Shumate creates a Santana-like groove and then proceeds to sing about how he has a fruit stand and likes to sell bananas to women and then about how he likes to watch them eat bananas. Shumate somehow created a vibe that runs somewhere between innocuous and creepy. 

There are also songs that lie somewhere in between like the delightful “Mountain Town” or the bluesy “Ray Charles Friday.” Shumate pulls off Joe Satriani type lead work on “1302” while “Turn” returns to an overt Pink Floyd vibe.

An Occasional Peach is a scattered album that doesn’t quite create a distinct sound for Shumate. He wears his influences on his sleeve and jumps from idea to idea without finding a way to tie a lot of them together. That being said Shumate has skill as a guitar player, enjoyed his voice and has decent skill when to comes to writing a song. Recommended.
official website
Tweet
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band
© Divide and Conquer 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact