David Thomas Owen IV - Solace My King
Rating
RIYL
LovedrugCopeland
Damion Suomi
Release Date
07/14/2009
Label
Esperanza PlantationTracklist
1. Armageddon2. I’m A Lava
3. Maybe I’m Crazy
4. Find Another World
5. Liars
6. Castles
7. They Will Eat You Alive
8. Knives
9. Eat Dust Eat Snakes
10. Go To Hell
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Former Lovedrug guitarist David Thomas Owen IV is a musical phenomenon all by himself on his first solo venture, Solace My King. Owen describes the album as a project capturing “the pure spirit of the song in its most raw form… leaving plenty of room for small imperfections, yet leaving the initial spirit of the song fully intact.” Solace My King is all about foregoing the nitty-gritty of the plethora of revisions artists undergo to make a song more radio-friendly, more indie-friendly or in general, more conformity-friendly. It is about relaying the very heart of a song at its inception by medium of recording, and because of this often under-valued aspiration, is one of the most charming things to shyly make its way around the music world all year.
There’s nothing particularly inventive about the album; in fact, some would have the courage to call its orchestral backings “pretentious.” Yet its ten track arsenal of fantasy tunes is more magical than Harry Potter after a bong hit and they walk the fine line between “masterpiece” and “bombastic failure” very well, mostly strolling in the realm of solid pop/rock tunes (this is not an easy task – note the disaster that was Razia’s Shadow). Case in point, the album’s defining moment “Armageddon” is the average fan of the genre’s paradise on Earth, boasting Owen’s absolutely incredible lofty vocals layered over theatric strings and dissonant keys.
The instruments contribute much to the makeshift fantasia, and the mystic themes of each track (most blatantly on “I’m A Lava,” “Find Another World” and “Castles”) create an original world of the imagination – a sort of simplified Lord of the Rings or Eragon in the form of music. Of course, 10 tracks are only enough to paint a shallow description of such a world, but the effort and appeal are aptly praiseworthy for what they are.
Solace My King’s more introspective moments are still more captivating. Owen at times presents therapeutic compositions like the conflicted “Maybe I’m Crazy,” which wonders, “Maybe I’m going crazy / maybe I’m crazy,” out loud in beautiful harmonic flair. Though the production here is not as raw as could be for maximum enjoyment, the emotion behind the lyrics is evident and the track becomes a highlight. Owen adds verbal confirmation for the strong sense of sentiment, admitting that the writing the album was “one big cathartic experience.”
“Eat Dust Eat Snakes” calls to mind recent Andrew Bird with light whistling and segues into the airy closer “Go to Hell,” a “whew, what a journey” lullaby at first listen. As suggested by the gloomy title, however, the track is perhaps the darkest of its predecessors with Owen (or perhaps an imaginary character) desiring to “find what’s killing me.” Instead of laying listeners down gently, “Go to Hell” leaves us slightly disturbed by its drab keys; but then again, true music from the heart has never left anyone happy-go-lucky. Solace My King is no exception, as it manages to provide a transcendental glimpse beyond an imaginative universe into a troubled soul and in the process, has turned into an outstanding record.
--Matthew Tsai
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