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Ben Britsan - Who We Are

By: ‘Telegram Sam’ Gordon
2/3/08

A sonorous and rich voice greets you unaccompanied at first and grabs your attention. The first line, “She only comes out at night-” makes you turn to your speakers and ask “Who? Are you talking to me?” And as the rest of the song unfolds this smooth and honest voice sounds familiar and comfortable.

That is what sitting down to the first track Make or Break, off of Ben Brittsan’s new album Who we are sounds like. This third release from the Chicagoan follows two albums made in 2002 and 2004.

Song titles such as Damn my heart and Turn around tell you right off of reading the track listing the direction this album is going. While heartache and unrequited love is a common theme in acoustic artists, Ben takes it and makes it his own. Musically, each of his songs have their own distinct sound. From light twinkling piano or drum accompaniment to the solid strumming of a guitar, they all differ. If you were to listen to the album two or three times through you could distinguish which song was which within the first 10 seconds. In that aspect I give Ben major kudos because its no easy feat to beat the acoustic temptation of playing the same three chords over and over again.

From the first track Brittsan takes his listener through the steps of what was obviously a major change of characters in his life. We begin with a hopeful song, transition into the questions of why things aren’t working, move into the loneliness, the missing, and wrap it all up with a song about closure. Out of the 11 tracks Ben has to offer, I’m most partial to that last song. The simplicity of The Cartographer attracted me initially , with its effortless strumming and his warm voice. Which compared to the intensity of some intros, like the heavy piano in Damn my Heart, comes off delightfully lighthearted. The first line ‘Wake up sleepy head, you’re gonna be late’ sounds like a new love song, until its followed by ‘to bite the hand of the one that feeds you’. I appreciate the contrast of acoustic guitar and light keyboard to the head shaking, tut-tut, realization the lyrics make. “You can start by taking a bow- while entertaining your whole new crowd-in the last row of seats I’ll probably be fast asleep.” The perfect end to an album of discontent, Ben makes his peace with this crooked map maker of a girl and continues on his own path.

I would definitely recommend this album to anyone with an appreciation of acoustic music, and especially to anyone feeling a little torn up inside. Over all Who we are gives us a little piece of who Ben was when he wrote each of these songs and offers up a slice of relation for everyone, because this album is the proverbial pie that always seems to be dessert in our relationships.

www.benbrittsanmusic.com

www.myspace.com/benbrittsanmusic

Show Review: Tony Sorrentino, Mojo's Hot House 3-31-07

Sorrentino Serendipity- All Fortunate, No Accident
Review and Photos by Sam Gordon

Walking into Mojoe’s Hot House on Belmont, a small crowd sits in the eclectic setting. Sipping coffee as a dark haired musician sits playing, paying a great homage to the six string making decoration on the brick wall to his left, his voice smooth as the red velvet couch behind him. He plays through three and half minutes of precision, finishing by looking up, smiling at the crowds applause. In as confidant a voice as the one he sings with he jokes that the few seconds after playing a song is a musician’s nightmare, just anticipating whether or not he was well received. But after hearing this twenty year old from Schaumburg, one can assure themselves that he’s never had to worry about such a thing.

Tony Sorrentino is a perfect combination of poise, talent, and ingenuity that makes up what should be the acoustic artist. Having played in bands before, Sorrentino has been going it alone, and doing so successfully. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Tony play multiple shows now, and I must say that I’m never disappointed. Each time I catch him at a show is like seeing him for the first time, his voice is just one of those that I listen to, and as a result put a hand over my heart and sigh. Growing up in a musical household, Sorrentino says that he’s been singing as long as he can remember, and along with video taped evidence of him belting out church songs as a toddler, it’s not hard to believe now. Completely aware of the chemistry of his voice, where it works and where it doesn’t, you can tell he’s developed a very close, personal relationship with his vocal chords. Recorded he sings just like what you’d want to pay money for, but live performance is where he makes his mark. Knowing when to back off of his microphone and when to choke up on a note makes his professionalism and knowledge of his craft even more apparent. A lot of musicians as young as he is, and even some quite a bit older have yet to master such a knowledge of their own physical being.

Along with his natural talent as a singer, Sorrentino has developed his guitar ability wonderfully, picking it up again six years ago after pushing the instrument back at a younger age. Having studied his instrument he’s able to produce clean and solid melodies that transition as smoothly as his voice. Listening to a song written by Tony Sorrentino is like reading a written story. He’s picked up the ability to spell things out and be entirely cryptic at the same time, making your ears your eyes. It seems as though he treats words themselves as music notes, giving each verse syncopation, as well as making notes words, giving them a direct purpose in his songs. Lyrically he uses a strong vocabulary that just exudes intelligence, a characteristic he conveys in his personality and performance as well.

Never anxious for a set to be over, and able to play through a time frame with his head in place, his performances are never rushed, nothing but natural. Going on stage with a mental set list, he plays what feels right, usually without being wrong. Allowing his voice and guitar to go out strong in songs like So Long, and Keep in Touch, he also shows his ability to pull back with Open my Veins, an instrumentally simple song that his voice carries beautifully.

Over all he posses a certain chemistry in his music and being that makes him any A&R representatives dream. Charismatic, genuine, and gifted I only wish I had a record label ready to sign Sorrentino, because I can guarantee his is a name we’ll be hearing often.

See the Tony S. Photo Gallery - Photos by Sam Gordon

Jesus and the Devil - Destructive Music Resists The Oncoming Light

Garage Rock…. Not a big fan of the genre but I like it enough to tell the good from the bad. One point I would like to make before delving into this review is that the thing I like most about this style is that it really gives the band a chance to be themselves by really stripping the whole concept of a band down to a basic rock formula leaving nothing but a solid foundation to build an entire kingdom on. I have heard about this band for a while now and when I popped this compact disc in I was expecting a gutsy rockabilly sound, but instead what I got was a pleasant surprise. I tell you I really think this band has something to offer. I started out this review talking about things I admire about garage rock and this band so helps me capture said elements to a “T”.

I really appreciate the fact that this band recorded half of this EP live (@ The Park West, The Vic, & The Double Door) which I think is most admirable considering most bands rely too much on production rather than even attempting to catch the emotion that drives their music in a live setting. It’s a ballsy thing to do and Jesus and The Devil hit the nail on the head. The live recording also provides a lo-fi feel that I think is quintessential to this bands overall sound.

The Lyrics are insightful yet entertaining in approach and content. If I ever have the pleasure of seeing these dudes I’ll probably be drunker than Jake “The Snake” Roberts on a Tuesday night singing along word for word.

The guitar playing and overall songwriting is top notch. While mainly staying to a more classic feel, these guys aren’t afraid to really venture off into more uncharted territories (think Rolling Stones making love to Fugazi). All in all with bands like Jet and The Strokes receiving all this mainstream attention I really don’t see why the music world can’t give these guys a chance. I like it and if you’re into rock music in general there is no reason why this band shouldn’t find a home in your cd player. -Dave Klingenberg

Preacher Gone To Texas - From The Heartland

Metalcore nowadays seems like it’s trying to surprise people constantly with their favorite things. I’ll call it the Kellogg’s variety pack syndrome. PGTT are not a bad band at all, in fact I enjoy this compact disc quite a bit. I just think it might be too much too late for I get the impression that the underground community that this band may be trying to appease has grown tired of this style and is moving on to better things.

If you’re not familiar with PGTT they play pretty close to a unique brand of hardcore that I have only seen before with Underoath. The heavy use of keyboards and mid-tempo poppy parts are thrown in for good measure. But unlike them, Preacher has a far superior vocal attack. Pretty much every member of this band has a voice. I sure wish somebody besides the lead singer would do the spoken word passages because this guy sounds like an emo Ben Stein on steroids. The screaming is emotive, hollow, and pretty gosh darn effective. The singing parts come across as urgent and sincere without coming across as your typical whinny emo-core.

The musical composition stands out the most on this EP. Every transition is smoother than a baby’s bottom. No single part really seems like it was forced in to as almost every song is a manic tornado. Chug riffs to upbeat melodies that blend together nicely really keep the listener’s on their toes. It really enhances the overall mood of this record into a positive experience. Just the kind of CD that makes you sit up straight when you’re driving.

Production on this CD is excellent and really has me looking forward to receiving more releases from this label. I can see a lot from this band in the future if they can produce a full length stacked with quality tracks like these. So if you’re into bands like Hopesfall, Underoath, or even Taking Back Sunday, give this band a try. They’ll probably make a fan out of you. -Dave Klingenberg