Folksier strains of music escape me in the same way that hip hop often does. Raised as I was in an upper middle class (and mostly white) suburb of a major city.
My only contact with wild mountainsides, untamed stretches of country road, and big sky occurred through car windows as my family drove from a to b. Essentially, I am Donny.
I am out of my element and I have no frame of reference. In spite of this, George Stathakes debut Drawings In Dust has managed to grab my somewhat philistine attention and retain it throughout multiple listens.
Above all things, this debut is a rough, adventurous record. George’s voice has an untamed quality, one that occasionally bottoms out on its way to hitting something sublime. The singer is not afraid to push himself beyond his comfort zone to explore the broad range of his musical tastes. Similarly, the songwriting seems hell bent on gathering everything into one envelope. In the most successful moments, like on the excellent “Stranger Music” and the album closer “Champagne and Cigarettes”, the blend is uniquely George, mixing the flavors and textures of Waits and Bowie together to create slinky, unnerving anthems tailor made for a night wandering around foggy southern streets. When Stathakes strays from that territory, he sounds like he is overreaching, and tracks like “Judy Collins” wind up taking away far more than they add in terms of variety. Stick to the moody, good sir. That is what makes you special.
Drawings In Dust deserves a huge amount of credit for being as bold as it is. Throughout it’s length, Stathakes takes bits and pieces of roots and folk, and forms them into something unfamiliar and original. As far reaching as a shotgun blast, Stathakes hits the same beats as his most idiosyncratic forebears, but with a joy of discovery that infuses the totality with an energy that overcomes Dust’s uneven moments. A must buy for anybody who craves being the first to know.
Some American RECOMMENDS: George Stathakes - Drawings In Dust
Source: http://www.someamerican.com/post/368032336/a-considered-opinion-george-stathakes-drawings-in
