CHRIS TOWNSEND is a 23-year old singer-songwriter, who has performed over 100 shows in the UK since early 2006. He has also played a number of shows in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Copenhagen (the album) is the full-length debut, following on from an earlier self-released EP “What Are You Waiting For”.
The three opening tracks “Come And Go”, “Radio” and “All You Can Say” are a good indicator of what the album has to offer. The songs use guitar, piano and strings to create poppy melodies and choruses that are catchy enough, but they lack a certain something to make them memorable. There is a lack of uniqueness and dare I say it, passion. They are not bad songs, but there is a feeling we have heard it all before.
“Back Again” is much better, with its jaunty, upbeat piano, before “Copenhagen” sees a return to the solid if unexciting songs of before.
“Direction” however, sees Townsend being a bit more daring, and injecting that extra “something” into his songs. It starts with quite a funky, almost choppy acoustic guitar melody, with Townsend’s vocals being stop-start. There is also a Reef-esque guitar riff working away in the background. The best song so far.
“Hardest Summer” initially brought to mind Feeder as it is slightly more rock orientated and has a pretty catchy chorus. Another strong song.
“Stay Positive” completes a trilogy of songs which together are the high point of the album. It is an uplifting piano-driven effort, with a sound enhanced by strings. It lives up to its title.
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Forgetting “Untied” which again shows Townsend not at his best, final track “For The Best” is another piano-led song urging us to look on the bright side. It nods towards Coldplay and has lovely a string-heavy outro.
Townsend seems to have a comfort zone, in which he creates inoffensive but overly polished, and unfortunately sometimes rather dull fare. However, tracks such as “Direction” and “Hardest Summer” show there is great potential in Townsend when he finds his own musical voice. It also seems that when the songs are positive, they work better. The ones that deal with darker subjects seem to lack conviction, or simply do not fit in with Townsend's upbeat music.
Currently, Townsend operates in the territory between the detestable James Blunt and the excellent Scott Matthews. As long as he develops in the Matthews direction, Townsend can look forward to a successful career.
www.christownsendmusic.com
www.myspace.com/christownsendmusic
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