Monday, August 06, 2007

Aaron Schroeder

Aaron Schroeder's sophomore effort, Black & Gold is one of those rare albums that immediately take root and get under your skin — in a good way. Some tracks are a nod to sixties-era pop à la Belle and Sebastian, while others seem to conjure an upbeat Smiths record. Backed with a talented band, and with an array as instruments as varied as guitars, clarinets, tubas, violins, French horns, organs, Moogs, musical saws, harpsichords and harmonicas Aaron has crafted a smart collection of 10-songs that are oozing talent all over the place.

His lyrics belie the fact that he's only 23 years old. I sense a tempered optimism in his words, on tracks such as "Emmylou", "All Along the Day", and "Call Out to Me." This one is going to stay with me for a while. I can sum it up with a single word: repeat.

A new talent is burgeoning. Do your ears a favor and take these for a spin.

+ Aaron Schroeder — What We Don't Know
+ Aaron Schroeder — Call Out to Me

[Aaron Schroeder on MySpace]

[pre-order Black & Gold]

3 comments:

luisa said...

ahcckkk!

i hate Belle and Sebastian!

i will check out this guy though.
thanks for the tip.

p.s. isn't everyone vaguely optimistic at 23...?

bigshoulders said...

luisa, I'll let you in on a secret: Try as I might, I couldn't get into B&S a few years back either... And I still can't. But A.S. is worth checking out, IMHO.

as for me 23 was as low as I've ever been. I could have used some optimism, vague or not, in any way, shape or form. :)

cheers,
b.s.

Cup said...

THANKS! I'm not familiar with him, so I look forward to listening to these MP3s tonight.