This album confounds me.
That’s not a bad thing, though. It’s intriguing — there are layers to the sonic presentation, and the lyrical prowess of Naish leaves me wondering about some existential crisis I may have every time I finish a track.
Perhaps it’s my own personal struggles that prevent me from fully enjoying this EP. My emotions are, at best, clouded. Songs are meant to trigger an emotional response — I’m just not sure that I’m in the right frame of mind right now to fully comprehend the response Naish is going for.
Chris Naish’s vocals are what I consider to be airy, but once track four starts, his diaphragm — and by extension, his passion — starts to become much more important to the sound of the EP. With the exception of the harmonica on “Be the Road,” the album is completely instrumentally driven by the sound of his warm acoustic guitar.
Despite my overall bewilderment, I do feel as if the 20 minutes of audio on the CD — which was recorded in one night — are worth a listen. If it’s not your prerogative to purchase the CD, I implore you to at least listen to “See New York” and tell me I’m not crazy for crying.