Beware Wolves
Around & Down
No idea who this dude is, but he put out 10 full length records this year. Seriously. Ten. What have you been doing this year? ;) I get the hunch that he’s been recording for years and finally got around to releasing it all - because how the hell else can you record and release close to 100 songs in a year - even in the singer / songwriter format? Wow. What we do know about him we found here, in this article, it appears that he’s from the Cape Cod area, and that’s about all we know.
If you like Cat Stevens, Dan Fogelberg, David Wilcox, Jim Croce - that vibe - you need to spend some time going through all ten LP’s. The recordings are sparse - just BW, a guitar and voice - maybe some piano, maybe some bass, maybe some light percussion. Are they technically perfect? Absolutely not, it’s all about the song, not the singer, and that’s the beauty of it. Here are some quick notes….
Badsome reminds us of Jim Groce. It’s a swinger. This could be a killer rockabilly tune, or a punk tune, but it’s great just as it is, a really toe tapper. Love the effect on his voice. Around & Down reminds us of Tim Buckley (Jeff’s father), the honesty in the vocals and the hook are glorious. After the War has a unique recording approach that matches the depth of the lyrics. It’s down and dirty with a rough EQ that gives a bit of distortion and grit to both to the guitar and voice. Listen to it - and relate it to the lyrics - it’s haunting. The structure is unique too. Glow has a great riff to it, a great story and a nice melody - perfect for a lullaby. How We Roll is lyrically stunning. Check this out and listen to the references of AAA (great pun), Texas and guns. I’d love to hear Dwight Yoakam cover this, or Chris Stapleton. It’s probably our favorite. Another Song is the one that pulls at our Cat Stevens heartstrings. No idea if this is a duo or if BW is singing his own harmonies, but it reminds us of “Tea for the Tillerman”, maybe a little of John Prine too.
Hold up, here’s a gem we just spotted if you look at ALL the albums he released this year - it shows you just how unique it is….. notice anything in particular with the song titles, per volume? See it? What about the moon phases on all 9 albums, the symbols….did you catch it? Maybe we’re nuts but there’s a pattern there that we don’t want to give away, perhaps it’s a sign of something else to come. I mean, if this dude drops 10 records in a year I’m willing to bet there’s more coming.
Without a doubt, this is the most prolific artist we’ve come across since we started this blog - we’ve got too many questions to ask before we can write anymore. But through it all, it’s great work. We love to hear solid songs with just a guitar and a voice. We love to hear ANYTHING other than the standard 3:00 Nashville country or pop song. We love to support artists that are prolific, speak their heart and keep their focus ON THE SONG and not the artist. The song is what counts, not whatever you think the person who recorded it is. We want nothing but the best for this artist - it would be amazing to see this live.
Check it out now!