Adam Marsland
Go West
Karma Dog Records
8/10
Concept albums are a difficult tack. Double albums are even tougher. Either the tone’s off, or the lyrics are off, or the instruments are. Adam Marsland knows a thing or two about that. In the space of a few months, he has managed to assemble a collection of songs- the first he’s gathered since 2004. The result Go West is an earnest examination of a twenty-something’s journey through the heart of the country- and life- and it is anything but simple.
The first thing anyone will notice is Adam’s voice. At turns he can switch from light, airy atmospherics (see “Standing in Chicago” or “Learning the Ropes”) to visceral and dark, as in “1 in 4.” His tight vocals are complimented by an intricate layering of chords- a D chord here, an A chord there- that either scares or excites. Just when it seems safe to relax, think again- Marsland will throw you in for a loop.
Despite the expertise, there are a few disappointments- “Stranger On the Town” comes to mind. With 23 songs in total, not all of them are expected to sit well with everyone. Yet on the whole, the album is a tour de force, worthy of respect, if not admiration. The same cannot be said of similar records out there.
If you want to know what Ben Folds, Elvis Costello, and Billy Joel sound like mixed in a blender, plunk down the $17 bucks for Go West and give it the good ol’ college try.
–John Winn