| Gabriel Miller Phillips – One For The Crow (2011) |
Gabriel Miller Phillips – One For The Crow
Label: Team Clermont
Genre: Acoustic / Indie / Rock
Location: BROOKLYN, New York, USA (origin: Swampscott, Massachusetts)
Tracklist:
01. I Saw You
02. Katie Mae
03. Memorial Drive
04. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
05. 24 Karat Man
06. Star Crossed
07. Tell Her
08. Matchstick Man
09. Two Time Fool
10. Last Dance
The sound of loneliness in the Big Apple. First full-length album from New York City songwriter.
7/10
If, at the age of 21 you end up spending the best part of two years laid up in bed after several operations undertaken to straighten your misaligned leg bones, it's a safe bet that any songs you may then write afterwards are likely to be shot through with a sense of yearning and emotional isolation. And so it is with the debut album from Gabriel Miller Phillips. Born into a family of Jewish witches (yep, that's what I said!), GMP's experiences and world-view are borne out in his lyrics, be it the awkward love-you-from-afar vibe of the paced, soft rock opener “I Saw You”, or the minimum brush stroke, vignette painting “Katie Mae” with it's atmospheric vocal and picked guitar.
With a voice like a less acrobatic Jeff Buckley, GMP explores loneliness, quiet desperation and the desire for human warmth and interaction throughout the LP which consists of nine originals and one cover, a version of Hank Williams' “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry”, adding to the song a brooding darkness not found in the original.
“Star Crossed” deals with love's power against a backdrop of adultery. GMP's deceptively simple yet poetic lyrics confront human fragility, sadness and the complexity of relationships. 'You're more than a stranger, but you're less than a friend' he sings on “Tell Her”.
Hopefully this record will reach out to some like minded people for the warmth he so obviously craves.
Duncan Fletcher
Click here for Gabriel Miller Phillips' website.
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Bandcamp: http://gabrielmillerphillips.bandcamp.com/
