WAITING FOR HENRY – GHOSTS & COMPROMISE

2013 – Self Released
The two dominating factors on this tremendous album that perfectly blends equal doses of classic indie rock and alt. country, is the meaty dramatic guitar sound and Dave Slomin’s classic alt. country vocals. The recording contains a varied mix of tempos and subject matter from mid tempo rootsy rockers to classic alt. country ballads all performed with drive, skill and total commitment, much to the benefit of this highly enjoyable
album.
The band is made up of a bunch of old friends who include Dave Slomin of Mr. Henry fame on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Ashdown (Dashdown, Braam, Billhouse, BoomHank) on drums, guitar and vocals and Michael Chun on bass, plus help from friends including former Mr. Henry bandmates Andrew Hollander who plays organ, piano and accordion and Neil Nunziato who plays drums on“Buy American” with indie vocalist Carla Capretto adding vocals to“Riverside” The album is not as experimental as Mr. Henry, it seems the sometimes quite strange music they made previously has altered shaped and perfected this powerful Indie rock/Americana style that has the feeling of being fully developed. The album was recorded, engineered and mixed by Joe Dell’Aquilaat Exeter Recording Studios in Freehold, New Jersey and produced by Slomin and the band. Of the eleven songs, nine were written by Dave Slomin and two, Wish You The Moonand Sicka, by Dave Ashdown who also proved what an excellent vocalist he is by handling the lead on both songs, with no loss of quality or atmosphere when compared to Slomin.
There is a powerful wash of chiming jangling guitars that sometimes envelope the lyrics of the excellent
songs but without actually spoiling the balance, thanks to Dave Slomin’s evocative lead vocals and the tremendous harmonies. He seems able to veer from a voice that often sounds remarkably like Jay Farrar into a raw hard driving atmospheric roots rocker even at times sounding a little like Michael Stipe of R.E.M. It’s incredibly pleasing to say that these are clearly not deliberate affectations but the natural timbre of Dave Slomin’s voice. The guitar sound and indeed some of the song structures again have echoes of Son Volt and R.E.M but are purely natural to this tremendous band and give the overall album a complete individuality despite those comparisons. In fact they are only intended to convey a feeling that can be picked up in individual songs, some more than others, but after listening to the complete album a few times it becomes obvious that this band are playing in their own individual style and like most other talented bands their influences can sometimes be picked out.
The album gets under way with the tremendous Buy American, a song that has a nice acoustic guitar introduction before the power of the electric guitars come in to support Slomin’s tremendous vocals on this melodic
mid tempo alt. country tale. This was a song that forced me into a double take on first listen, almost having me believe it was Son Volt of a few years ago! It is followed by Here Comes The Rain, a song that removes much of the Son Volt connection and ensures the dawning of the idea that this could actually be something a little bit special. That is confirmed by the mid tempo moody ballad Incomplete Me with Dave Slomin’s emotion drenched vocals ensuring a powerful atmosphere, added to by the tremendous harmonies and an incredibly catchy chorus. Riverside
is a gorgeous slow moody ballad that can’t really be compared to anyone else whilst the title song Ghosts And
Compromise echoes this feeling with it’s equally slow moodiness and another emotional vocal from Slomin. Album closer Parallel Lanes is another excellent piece of songwriting with just Dave Slomin’s vocal and acoustic guitar providing a nice mellow closer to what is a tremendous album that pretty much has something for everyone whatever their roots musical preferences!
The band’s fully developed style has a tremendous power and vitality that sets them apart from most other
bands working in a similar field. The playing is always excellent, as is the writing, with some gorgeous melodies upping the ante another notch, crowned by Dave Slomin’s atmospheric vocals that are just about as perfect for this style of music as anyone could wish for. If that is not enough a final summing up could say if you like Son Volt and/or R.E.M, you will almost certainly love this. High praise but fully justified!
http://waitingforhenry.wordpress.com/press-2/
http://www.reverbnation.com/waitingforhenry
The two dominating factors on this tremendous album that perfectly blends equal doses of classic indie rock and alt. country, is the meaty dramatic guitar sound and Dave Slomin’s classic alt. country vocals. The recording contains a varied mix of tempos and subject matter from mid tempo rootsy rockers to classic alt. country ballads all performed with drive, skill and total commitment, much to the benefit of this highly enjoyable
album.
The band is made up of a bunch of old friends who include Dave Slomin of Mr. Henry fame on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Ashdown (Dashdown, Braam, Billhouse, BoomHank) on drums, guitar and vocals and Michael Chun on bass, plus help from friends including former Mr. Henry bandmates Andrew Hollander who plays organ, piano and accordion and Neil Nunziato who plays drums on“Buy American” with indie vocalist Carla Capretto adding vocals to“Riverside” The album is not as experimental as Mr. Henry, it seems the sometimes quite strange music they made previously has altered shaped and perfected this powerful Indie rock/Americana style that has the feeling of being fully developed. The album was recorded, engineered and mixed by Joe Dell’Aquilaat Exeter Recording Studios in Freehold, New Jersey and produced by Slomin and the band. Of the eleven songs, nine were written by Dave Slomin and two, Wish You The Moonand Sicka, by Dave Ashdown who also proved what an excellent vocalist he is by handling the lead on both songs, with no loss of quality or atmosphere when compared to Slomin.
There is a powerful wash of chiming jangling guitars that sometimes envelope the lyrics of the excellent
songs but without actually spoiling the balance, thanks to Dave Slomin’s evocative lead vocals and the tremendous harmonies. He seems able to veer from a voice that often sounds remarkably like Jay Farrar into a raw hard driving atmospheric roots rocker even at times sounding a little like Michael Stipe of R.E.M. It’s incredibly pleasing to say that these are clearly not deliberate affectations but the natural timbre of Dave Slomin’s voice. The guitar sound and indeed some of the song structures again have echoes of Son Volt and R.E.M but are purely natural to this tremendous band and give the overall album a complete individuality despite those comparisons. In fact they are only intended to convey a feeling that can be picked up in individual songs, some more than others, but after listening to the complete album a few times it becomes obvious that this band are playing in their own individual style and like most other talented bands their influences can sometimes be picked out.
The album gets under way with the tremendous Buy American, a song that has a nice acoustic guitar introduction before the power of the electric guitars come in to support Slomin’s tremendous vocals on this melodic
mid tempo alt. country tale. This was a song that forced me into a double take on first listen, almost having me believe it was Son Volt of a few years ago! It is followed by Here Comes The Rain, a song that removes much of the Son Volt connection and ensures the dawning of the idea that this could actually be something a little bit special. That is confirmed by the mid tempo moody ballad Incomplete Me with Dave Slomin’s emotion drenched vocals ensuring a powerful atmosphere, added to by the tremendous harmonies and an incredibly catchy chorus. Riverside
is a gorgeous slow moody ballad that can’t really be compared to anyone else whilst the title song Ghosts And
Compromise echoes this feeling with it’s equally slow moodiness and another emotional vocal from Slomin. Album closer Parallel Lanes is another excellent piece of songwriting with just Dave Slomin’s vocal and acoustic guitar providing a nice mellow closer to what is a tremendous album that pretty much has something for everyone whatever their roots musical preferences!
The band’s fully developed style has a tremendous power and vitality that sets them apart from most other
bands working in a similar field. The playing is always excellent, as is the writing, with some gorgeous melodies upping the ante another notch, crowned by Dave Slomin’s atmospheric vocals that are just about as perfect for this style of music as anyone could wish for. If that is not enough a final summing up could say if you like Son Volt and/or R.E.M, you will almost certainly love this. High praise but fully justified!
http://waitingforhenry.wordpress.com/press-2/
http://www.reverbnation.com/waitingforhenry