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Wilfred Langmaid

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Matt McFarlane: Bare Bones - Independent

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Frederictonian Matt McFarlane had the fire of music light within him in the 1990s. The spark was rock, grunge, and alternative music of that decade.

This spark is the antecedent of a very raw, aggressive way of acoustic guitar playing, singing, and song construction.

That fascinating combination - heavy '90s rock at the core of solo acoustic singer/songwriter craft - makes McFarlane's entirely self-written, self-recorded, self-mixed, and self-produced album Bare Bones a fascinating and unique musical offering.

The fusion works for a few reasons. Most importantly, McFarlane is at the core a decent songwriter. The 11 tracks that make up the so-aptly-named Bare Bones are diverse; their power has the dual weaponry of good lyric writing and a furious delivery on vocals and guitar.

The whole thing is a stirring one-person offering of the roots of man's musical soul, delivered by a hitherto-unknown local musician who has the skills to make a unique offering work well.

***

Kings Of Convenience: Declaration Of Dependence - Virgin /EMI

To many of us who know nothing of Kings Of Convenience, Declaration Of Dependence is a lovely, listenable album of tuneful, mellow songcraft.

For fans of the Bergen, Norway-based indie poppers, though, it's a welcome return by a band who got European fame and North American respect with three lovely albums between 2001 and 2004.

Erlend Oye and Erik Glambek Boe blend tenor voices in thrilling vocal locks that recall past generation legends from this side of the Atlantic like Simon and Garfunkel and The Everly Brothers. The most common configuration is Oye in the high parts and Boe with the lower ones, but these two wonderful singers work nicely in any combination.

The music itself is wonderfully, and sometimes intricately, crafted. The nice added touch this time is a relatively more spare sound. Most songs are basically two people singing and playing acoustic guitar. The absence of extra instruments such as piano and strings is pronounced this time around. This is their first album with no guest vocalists.

This album works on so many levels - everything from perfect background listening to expertly crafted and delivered songcraft on the other.

Fredericton-based freelance writer Wilfred Langmaid has reviewed albums in The Daily Gleaner since 1981, and is a past judge for both the Junos and the East Coast Music Awards. His column appears each Saturday.