DVDfever.co.uk - Sam Isaac: Bears CD reviewDVDfever.co.uk - Charts, News and Reviews of Blu-rays, DVDs, Games, CDs, Hardware, Laserdiscs, Cinema Films & more
After a health scare (a disease caught from eating mackerel, normally exclusive to fish) Sam Isaac finally gets his debut album out on 14th Floor Records.
Worcestershire’s very own Isaac relocated to London three years ago to pursue his dream. He was eventually signed to Back2Forward Records, releasing his debut EP Compass Scattered Love. This was followed by a novel approach to touring. This indie-folk-popster decided to drop by fans homes and set up his gear. Very novel: not new.
The closest contemporary he probably has is Badly Drawn Boy in terms of musical soundscapes, though here and there, some might find similarities with Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes, but not as good.
Isaac’s voice isn’t great by any means, lacking range, but the Malvern man can role out some pleasant tunes, some however seem to go on forever lacking any direction.
Bears, the title track, is bedded by delicate synth and sweet piano that run the songs duration before a crunching build-up enters, unfolding into beefy rocker.
Full of gusto, Come Back Home Tonight surges like and unstoppable juggernaut with later Sticker, Star and Tape taking a similar frenetic frame, one which I’m sure will be a live ‘lads favourite.’ In fact tracks 2, 3, and 4 could all blend seamlessly into each other without one really standing out.
For me, Isaac works best when he’s doing the gentler folkier stuff such as the gorgeous piano-led Berlin, where the understated brass arrangements prove to be a magical touch, and the melancholic, yet sweet, ballad What Good Did That Do? which has some lush and sweeping strings, making them the album’s best moments.
A major low happens on the lacklustre I Traded My Friends as he tries to do a Badly Drawn Boy semi-rocker. This could have been left off the album in my opinion.
Things improve massively on the album’s closer, Apple Tree, a semi-indie folk gem with the various shifts and instrumentation taking centre stage.
Nip and tucking some tracks, with a couple of omissions would have made this a better listen.
1. Bears
2. Come Back Home Tonight
3. Fire Fire
4. Sticker, Star And Tape
5. Annie, Why Are You So Angry?
6. Sideways
7. Berlin
8. I Traded My Friends For You
9. Carbon Dating
10. Calendar
11. What Good Did That Do?
12. Apple Tree
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.