Tyler Ramsey is a singer-songwriter from Asheville, North Carolina whose family is from Morgantown, West Virginia. He was one of the performers at the Mountain Stage concert I attended last Sunday and is currently on tour with Band Of Horses. Ramsey's voice is the big draw on this album, often resting in a smoothly lackadaisical tone akin to Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters with the occasional hint of a Neil Young warble.
I recall first reading about Ramsey's album on Songs: Illinois last year, but I can't share Craig's unbridled enthusiasm for the entire disc. While there are some very pretty songs on the album, I feel that the quiet beauty of Tyler's vocals and guitar is at times marred by programmed beats or simply weighed down by a deficiency of spirit. But the good songs are quite good.
"A Long Dream" opens the album with repetitious beats and verses. The song did not translate well to stage, but I love the album version. Whatever the delicate melody lacks in variety, it makes up for in atmosphere.
Other highlights include the dusty string accented Americana of "Ships", the perky guitar instrumental "Chinese New Year", and the haunting moans of "Iris". And the languid introspection is done best in the piano melancholia of "No One Goes Out", the cover of Jackson Browne's "These Days", and the finale "Please Stop Time".
The stand out track is "Worried", with Ramsey's most emotive vocal of the album drifting over a sparse melody laced with heartbeat percussion and pedal steel.
Tyler Ramsey - Worried (mp3 expired)
Tyler Ramsey Official Site
Buy @ Amazon
I recall first reading about Ramsey's album on Songs: Illinois last year, but I can't share Craig's unbridled enthusiasm for the entire disc. While there are some very pretty songs on the album, I feel that the quiet beauty of Tyler's vocals and guitar is at times marred by programmed beats or simply weighed down by a deficiency of spirit. But the good songs are quite good.
"A Long Dream" opens the album with repetitious beats and verses. The song did not translate well to stage, but I love the album version. Whatever the delicate melody lacks in variety, it makes up for in atmosphere.
Other highlights include the dusty string accented Americana of "Ships", the perky guitar instrumental "Chinese New Year", and the haunting moans of "Iris". And the languid introspection is done best in the piano melancholia of "No One Goes Out", the cover of Jackson Browne's "These Days", and the finale "Please Stop Time".
The stand out track is "Worried", with Ramsey's most emotive vocal of the album drifting over a sparse melody laced with heartbeat percussion and pedal steel.
Tyler Ramsey Official Site
Buy @ Amazon
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