Let me start this off by saying, this is not at all what I was expecting this EP to sound like. I had heard much about Forrest’s skill as a "mandolin family" instrument player, seen him rip through bluegrass tunes, and watched him pick it out solo with some rather impressive space filling skills while playing all by his lonesome (for those of you who don’t know, mandolin is a fairly high pitched instrument, playing and singing solo is a tough feat to make sound good…Forrest has NO issues making it sound not just good, but ridiculously good). What I got here was not 20 minutes of “self satisfying mandolin runs just because I can”, but well thought out and expertly arranged pieces that have a commercial appeal and still feel like an independent musician sunk their heart and soul into them.
Built on a pillar of top tier instrumentation and intensely rich harmonies, "Wisewater" presents 5 tracks, all with a common thread, but differing in their tonal and arrangement qualities. O' Connor's lighthearted attitude and dry humor shines through all of the noise in each and every track...seriously, the guy is a hoot, go check out his videos on youtube. Pretty funny stuff.
The record kicks off with “Leaves Keep Falling”…and the
mandola tone is unreal on this track. Just a beautiful woody picking pattern laid
out across the track. Luscious vocal harmonies all courtesy of O’ Connor, and
some really interesting synths mixed in with it all make it a very unique and
enjoyable listen. IF you listen close, he has relatable lyrics and its pretty
easy to tell he is Boston guy, riding the T in this particular cut.
I ride the train, see that everyone’s looking down
At their hands, up a name, not a soul
“Drift” takes a somewhat similar, but fuller, turn. Mixing
synth and strings resulting in a pleasant and upbeat product. It’s the third
track where the musician’s personality really shines through. A playful and
humorous interlude of the musician talking to “his counterpart” and a jokey exchange
about keys and arrangement (“one of the more underutilized keys is G” got me
laughing for a good while). It launches into an original arrangement (I
believe?) called ‘Summer Road’. A fun and upbeat arrangement that brings the absolute
and honest fact to a head that this guy is an incredibly talented player. My
only complaint is that I wish this tune went on for another 3-4 minutes. Unparalleled
playing here.
“Live on” is the fourth track and introduces fellow musician
David Gallagher to the mix on guitar. It has a bit more of a muted warm tone to
it…I am thinking melancholy and somewhat dark autumn day. That is just kind of where
it brings me personally, a solid tune indeed. The general fact that it makes me
feel that way really says something about Forrest’s ability to condone feelings
through his orchestration choices in the music.
The EP ends with the moving “Crop Circles”. An almost 80s video
game like them kicks in on the keys. A full band arrangement with a serious
groove. With banjo, mandolin, organ, guitars, and those synths is almost like “farm
electronic dance music”, taking breaks to highlight the fact that some
traditional strings are hiding behind the waves of synthesizer. Again, Forrest
O’Connor and his damn multiple harmony parts just blow me away. All the way
down low and sky high, he mixes and mingles his vocal across multiple tracks
forming a harmonious and full sound. A successful tune indeed.
Forrest O’ Connor masterfully blends traditional
instrumentation with modern textures to create a buoyant and delightful mix of
sounds on this project. His voice has a seemingly unending space and flexibility
to it, that most singers who listen to this project will envy. I don’t have
much else to say about Mr. O’ Connor except, he is good…real, real good. Pick
this EP up, you won’t be disappointed.
Forrest O’ Connor is online at: http://www.forrestoconnormusic.com/
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