Search - Howie Beck :: Howie Beck (IMPORT)

Howie Beck (IMPORT)
Howie Beck
Howie Beck (IMPORT)
Genres: Folk, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (13) - Disc #1

Howie Beck's self-titled record from 2004 is almost exactly the same as his excellent record from 2002, Hollow. The same hushed and intimate feel, solid songcraft, and melodic grace are all still present, and Beck again so...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Howie Beck
Title: Howie Beck (IMPORT)
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: True North Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2004
Release Date: 1/1/2004
Album Type: Import
Genres: Folk, Pop, Rock
Styles: Singer-Songwriters, Adult Alternative
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 620638032626

Synopsis

Product Description
Howie Beck's self-titled record from 2004 is almost exactly the same as his excellent record from 2002, Hollow. The same hushed and intimate feel, solid songcraft, and melodic grace are all still present, and Beck again sounds like the third Pernice Brother but that's no slander. He's not a slavish imitator, just a fellow pop enthusiast with similar influences. Besides, Beck gives more care to the sonic subtleties along the way, adding nice little bits that keep the songs from blending together: the Latin percussion and horns on My Low, the weeping pedal steel on Zombie Girl, the bells on Please, and the strings that pop up throughout. He also keeps a nice balance between acoustic ballads such as the Elliott Smith-like The Books Beside the Bed and Lay Down and more relatively uptempo fare like Sometimes (She's So Far In), Don't Be Afraid, and Floating. The melancholy haze never lifts despite the shifting dynamics, nor do the melodies ever fail to be absolutely lovely. Perfect for keeping you company in between Pernice Brothers releases, Howie Beck is the kind of disc you'll want to curl up with, cry along to, and savor.

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CD Reviews

An understated classic
A music lover | London | 04/21/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Following on from 2002's Hollow, this album is simply stunning. There's something gentle and undeniably warm about Beck's songs, from the fragile, desolate beauty of Lay Down to the swaying pedal steel of Zombie Girl. With an easy picking style his guitar and voice combine perfectly, brass and strings employed subtly to great effect on tracks like Alice and Floating. With lyrics that lull you then bite with deliciously dark wit, Beck manages to be both bittersweet and emotively intense without ever succumbing to all out melancholia - it's an album so perfectly crafted it can't help but a smile on your face."
Great work from a local artist
Alice Yung | toronto, canada | 10/06/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)

"some very nice tunes from a local artist. pretty amazing that all instruments were played and arranged by mr. beck"
Capital W, capital O, capital W.
armenianthunder | los angeles | 10/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the multi-instrumentalist home-recording pop-loving-genius tradition of folks like Jason Falkner, Jon Brion and Elliott Smith, Howie Beck writes gorgeous pop tunes that will melt even the most embittered hearts. The arrangements are subtle, the lyrics bittersweet, the melodies perfect, and the breathy, plaintive vocals will instantly suggest a myriad of other bands you love, from the Zombies, to the Pernice Brothers, to the Red House Painters. But Howie's songs are his own, and they are fantastic.



I admit it's a little confusing: there are about 6 separate listings in Amazon for only 2 different Howie Beck CDs, all on different labels, released successively from 2001-2006. But after hearing this, his latest, self-titled release, I'm glad there are so many different labels who want to take a stab at bringing these tunes to the masses. I wonder, however, if the masses can appreciate, or even deserve, something this good."