Chad
King
"Love Your Engine" CDR
KEEP
Recordings
Genres: alt. country, country-folk, indie pop
KEEP Recordings
PO BOX 18972
Tucson AZ 85731
June 21 - 27 2004 |
Chad King's Love Your Engine is the second release on
the newly-formed KEEP Recordings CDR label, dedicated to limited
edition, handmade releases of high quality. Their previous
release, Tony Moreno's Leftovers
From a Wake, impressed me quite a bit, so needless to say I
was looking forward to reviewing this record. And - believe it
or not - my [ridiculously high] expectations were surpassed!
Love Your Engine is the definitive home-taped country-pop
album. Chad King seamlessly blends unbearably beautiful
pop melodies with a hearty dose of twang and his own wonderfully lo-fi
approach. You'll be amazed to learn that this disc was limited to fifty copies
- I could see it becoming the next hit on Secretly Canadian.
KEEP is certainly earning its keep, if you'll excuse the pun.
Although Love Your Engine is very country-oriented, there is
nonetheless some strong variation on this disc. Tunes like the
pretty "Dry Your Tears" and "Settle Down" blend
country elements with a more folk-based approach. Other tunes,
like "Salt Mouth" and "Lucky Man" are much more
pop-based; the former is a monumental slab of epic folk-pop - it feels
absolutely gigantic, yet still miraculously cozy and
relaxing. The wide array of influences makes this an ideal
purchase for enthusiasts of independent pop, country, and folk music -
and should thus garner it a broad selection of fans.
I am just in awe of what Chad King has created with Love
Your Engine. This is one of the best CDR releases I've heard
in a long, long time.
89%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 11 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |