A singer songwriter who plays all the instruments to boot, Wesley Wolfe is a pleasant surprise and so is this record. It starts out sounding like an acoustic only folk excursion with the opener, the short but sweet “Only Ray Of Sunshine”. A tasty melodic turn on the chorus perks up the ears just when you think you’re getting another guy with an acoustic guitar that wants to bitch and moan.
More surprises are in store as additional instruments (all played by Wolfe by the way except for some cello) get introduced as needed. A breezy guitar blend and some cool minimalist drumming punctuate “Sorry Only Counts The First Time”. The lyrics can be quite dark and introspective, but the song arrangements are peppy and sparse which provides interesting counterpoint.
“Gone For Good” makes use of some echo on the vocals combined with some fuzz electric guitar and tapped out percussion on the body of the always present acoustic guitar. Wolfe proves to be extremely capable of adding interesting elements to the music as he goes along without making any of it sound too heavy handed or forced. It’s the song over structure quality here combined with an attention to detail without showing off that proves to be the record’s underlying strength. Wolfe displays a keen instinct for knowing what works when making a record but never employs flash or effects at the expense of the song.
“Storage” has a certain charm to it that calls to mind other homemade efforts such as Emitt Rhodes, Mitch Easter, and maybe even a little bit of Robert Pollard. There may not be anything here that will crack the mainstream but that’s their loss. Wesley Wolfe is the kind of artist that will make music his way without bending to any passing fads or trends. Out April 20 on Odessa Records.. Follow this link for a free download song.
http://www.odessarecords.com/artists/ww/
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