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

Samuel James - inanimate objects

9/24/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Samuel James

inanimate objects
self-released; 2015

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

The first track entitled “Mornin’ Sun” on inanimate objects by Samuel James is comparable to ingesting some Xanax along with three glasses of wine. The music almost feels slowed down and calming. James put some type of modulation on his voice and barely puts any strain on his vocal delivery. That coupled with warm electric piano and bass and you have some sort of synth pop concoction that happens to be one of the highlights on the album.

The next track “Exactly” starts off in a similar vibe as the first song buts get more energy as it progresses. You are initially greeted with fuzzy synths, bass, some percussion and James singing, “Everything is exactly as it should be.” It’s a solid song and James layers a number of percussive elements that act as additional ear candy against the vocals. His vocals also get more dynamic towards the second half of the song. Next up is “the mirror” which contains an emotionally resonant vocal performance and another example of the unique layering he implements into the song. One thing I started to notice at this point was there were instances where his vocals seemed too soft or entire sections seemed too loud.

This is a relatively minor issue that could have been resolved by compression techniques as well as riding faders. Either way it is something that while innocuous in some aspects is a difference that often separates recordings professional studios from DIY home studio projects.

“Hard to Find” contains the most upbeat energy yet with a fast moving dirty bass and percussion. On “Melody” forget about Xanax and wine. This song sounds like you ingested Quaaludes. The drone like synth combined with the lightly strummed guitar is enough to create this vibe. James singing is the cherry on top. He barely gets the words out of his mouth on this song and I had no idea what he was saying here. As the album continues James has some success with songs like “the ceiling” and the guitar led “the wall.”

There are a ton of great ideas on inanimate objects and James is about eighty percent there in how he implements them. For a debut LP this feels like a lot to ingest and I think it has to do with some of the molasses like energy that is on some of the songs coupled with a high track count. The LP may have been more effective at eight to ten tracks. Overall, this is a really impressive start and I am looking forward to see how this artist evolves.
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

    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 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact