I'm a big fan of incongruity. It can be amusing, it can be Surreal. It can also offer unexpected angles and genuine surprises.
Richard Walters' debut album, 'The Animal' is full of incongruities. Take the artwork, for example: the cover of the CD features a bespectacled Walters, wearing headphones and chewing on the lead as though it were a very unpleasant spaghetti dish. I can't for the life of me figure out how this relates to the title, or the contents of the album, although it's undeniably a striking image.
Then there's the title itself. 'The Animal' conjures expectations of a bestial snarl, perhaps, or otherwise tales of wild, debauched and frankly sub-human existence. Instead, what Walters gives us are ten songs sung in a soft, gentle falsetto, accompanied primarily by acoustic guitar. This musical approach is also incongruous with the subject matter of the songs, which tackle domestic abuse, anxiety and breakdowns. Now, I'm not saying that the topics shouldn't be handled delicately, but the understated approach to, well, everything proves rather underwhelming. There's nothing about any of the tracks that really grabs the attention at any point. It's all a little too unassuming, polite.
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Respect is due to Walters for his truly meticulously crafted tunes and performance, and for the restraint he shows in his 'resolute refusal' to 'rock out.' However, I'm left wishing he would let go, if only just a bit, if only just occasionally.
Nice, pleasant, but ultimately unchallenging in sonic terms, and consequently the biting subject matter slips through unnoticed, which is a pity.
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