Place for Nothing and Everything in Its Place

構成数 : 1
合計収録時間 : 00:00:00
Tracy Bryant originally planned for his 2017 album A Place for Nothing and Everything in Its Place to be a solo acoustic project, which would have been a far cry from the reverb-drenched proto-psychedelia of his 2016 release Subterranean. Somewhere along the line, Bryant and producer Leonard Kaage got other ideas, but even with a rock band behind him, Bryant has served up something distinctly different on A Place for Nothing. Bryant is still clearly fixated on the music of the '60s, but there's considerably less striving to replicate a vintage sound on A Place for Nothing, and there's a free and easy quality to these tunes that's more spontaneous and less studied than his previous work. The guitars and keyboards in these arrangements sometimes nod to vintage folk-rock, but their touch is light and the focus here is firmly on the songs, and how the arrangements complement them. Bryant's vocals are strong and confident, and his lyrics are smart and to the point, whether he's ruminating on a romance gone bad ("I Don't Love You Anymore"), pledging himself to a new love ("Right Here Waiting"), contemplating mortality ("The Grave"), or pondering inner space ("Velvet Kids," which with its soaring slide guitar work is the closest thing here to what Bryant wrought on Subterranean). Kaage and Bryant's production is full-bodied and atmospheric without seeming cluttered, and the accompanists keep the performances tight and expressive. A Place for Nothing and Everything in Its Place isn't quite as audacious as Subterranean, but it's every bit as strong as a set of fine songs played with heart and imagination, and suggests Tracy Bryant's solo career could travel in any number of interesting directions after this. ~ Mark Deming