Out of nowhere comes this record from Seattle-based artist Aaron English.
And oh boy – this is not music you would expect to come from that place, that’s for sure.
Aaron English music is heavily based on the piano – with a plethora of instruments allowed to fill
out the textures of the songs, and in some cases also allowed to be the central instrument.
Electric guitars, violin, synth – even a didgeridoo can be heard in some of the songs.
Describing the music as such is difficult. Throughout the album the mood of the songs are generally
melancholic, and sometimes sad. This is music for dark autumn evenings, for red wine and remembering
the past – or just daydreaming.
The genre is most difficult to describe. Imagine Billy Joel or Elton John collaborating with a world
music ensemble, and you’re close. As a singer Aaron English hasn’t got a great voice, but it suits
his music. Closest comparison would be Peter Gabriel.
The album as a whole is good. A few fillers, quite a few good songs, and one really excellent song.
The excellent one being track 8 – Mandeleine – a sad and haunting song with Celtic and Irish influences.
Other personal highlights are Sea of Nectar, The Lullaby of Loneliness and Ghost is Broken.
But all in all this is an album with good songs throughout, where the album as a whole can be recommended,
as there are few songs that really can be said to be much better or worse than others.

All in all I’ll rate this as a good album, and I’m looking forward to hearing more from this artist.

My rating: 73/100