Saturday, April 2, 2011

RADIATOR REVIEWS: James Van Wart - Embryonic Stage


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James Van Wart doesn't so much play his instruments as much as speak through them. He tells this elaborate story all without saying more than two sentences in the first 7 tracks which express a desire to skip school and record music all day, which along with track names such as "Trainstop" and "Going Downtown To Spend All My Money" are enough to give significant meaning to the weaving melodies and rock interplay James Van Wart's instrumental compositions comprise of. No lyrics are necessary to convey the message of heart pounding anxiety in "Late", but Van Wart brings the best elements of classic rock to the recordings, no one is trying to show off and everything sounds really great for it. The Guitars have a really great tone, the drums sound really tight and well tuned, Great Cymbals, Great Snare. Not to mention Embryonic Stage begins with a stone cold perfect beatles impersonation of the song "Sun King". What I really find impressive though, is how James Van Wart makes the setup seem fairly new still oddly nostalgic of some faded out Grateful Dead jam. Embryonic Stage is the kinda thing that only happens when you find the middle ground between rigid pop structure and full on jam band, in this case a semi-structured and cohesive concept album about the love of recording. 8.1

reviewed by Mohamed El-Darwish RADIATOR COLLECTIVE 2011

James Van Wart - Keep On Keepin' On

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