Tomas Sen – Try Solitude

Try Solitude is an eclectic, experimental album riddled with acoustic guitar and prominent piano melodies mixing with programmed drum parts and vocal samples. The debut from Jeff Thomassen was recorded in his home studio, and at just 17 years old, the Lafayette native came up with his moniker in honor of his family – one of the many themes that comes up during the course of the album. Try Solitude is somewhat of a concept album with an array of ideas that come together ranging from self-identity, love, spirituality, social injustice, solitude, and passion.

It is a reflective album with each song relating to a specific theme. Thomassen’s fascination with concept albums influenced the direction of this album. From start to finish, Try Solitude is really a journey of a young man trying to feel things out. The lyrics are poetic narratives that clearly show Thomassen’s curiosity with every facet of life. And he does so in an insightful way, with maturity beyond his years. The pseudo-concept album angle could have easily gone awry, but the honesty and passion takes it to another level.

Thomassen’s fondness of nostalgia also shows in a few tracks, particularly “Phantom Jealousy.” There’s a distinct flair for a retro sound with nods to 1950s pop music reinforced by doo-wop style vocals. “The Human Farmers” incorporates some elements from early indie masters like The Pixies and They Might Be Giants. But more modern sounds are featured on “On Earth as It Is in Heaven” with a strong synth pop flair. This broad range of influences is the perfect complement to the concept album, giving it more dimension than solely relying on the storytelling component.

The downside is that all this diversity keeps the album from having a sense of cohesiveness. Each song is good in its own right, but the tracks don’t flow together as well as they could. Every song has such a strong identity that at times contradicts the others.

Overall, Try Solitude is a high quality debut with a unique twist on what can be considered a concept album. It’s creative, reflective, and an impressive first showing from a young, emerging artist.

You can purchase the album in its entirety as a name-your-own-price deal from Bandcamp here.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Family Trees is the charming debut album from Mountaineer!

Mountaineer! is the solo project from California-based artist, Danny Poissant. During the last six months of his senior year at the University of California, Poissant was also toiling away at writing, recording, and mixing his first album, Family Trees. The ten song debut album is pretty ambitious considering Poissant was also busy, you know, finishing his college degree. Although the sound quality is decisively lo-fi (given it was recorded with “crappy instruments” and his laptop microphone) there is a clear amount of thought and effort that went into the entire songwriting process.

On the surface, Family Trees is mostly a lighthearted and quirky album, but it’s also very reflective on the experiences of young adulthood. Musically, the first half of the album is the most childlike and whimsical featuring softer sounds and twinkling xylophone. Tracks like “Cetacea” especially capture the innocence and wonder of childhood. The lyrics, however, tend to stray into the darker end of the spectrum. A strong example of this change is in “Sleepy Ghosts” when Poissant recalls, “You asked me what it’s like to die/I wish I did, but I don’t know/Just bury me, it’s getting cold.”

The album shifts mid-way with “The Rain Song” which has a grittier feel compared to its predecessors. The second half is more mature and exotic with ukulele and Spanish-style acoustic guitar. Vocals tend to take a backseat to the guitar and rolling percussion, but Poissant’s style is very similar to Meric Long of The Dodos. Unfortunately, the vocals are only present in a handful of songs, and it would have been nice to hear more.

Overall, Mountaineer! is an intriguing debut project with a range of styles that makes it more than just lo-fi. There are elements of rock, pop, folk, and even world music that keeps things fresh and interesting.

Family Trees is out now and available as a name your own price download from Bandcamp.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.