MP3 If Wen - Take A Look At The Sea
'''' Sublime multi-tracked vocals soar over earthy fingerpicked guitar with a melodic pop sensibility whose closest comparison is an extroverted Elliott Smith circa Figure 8."
12 MP3 Songs in this album (44:10) !
Related styles: FOLK: Folk Pop, COUNTRY: Modern Country
People who are interested in Elliott Smith Pink Floyd Nick Drake should consider this download.
Details:
''...genius...one of best things heard in the last ten years...could be the English Elliot Smith.'' Shaun Belcher, Flyin'' Shoes Review.
''...songs that go far deeper than many song writers are capable of going...'' the acoustic/folk fanzine Fatea.
''A quite charming and fulfilling debut release'' David Kidman, NetRhythms.
''Simple, pastoral, but breathtaking folktronica.'' Radio Caroline TV.
‘…a really great album...’ BBC DJ Sean Rowley
'' Sublime multi-tracked vocals soar over earthy fingerpicked guitar with a melodic pop sensibility whose closest comparison is an extroverted Elliott Smith circa Figure 8. The vocals at times bring to mind Nick Drake, without the intensity and melancholy but just as breathy and lovely...I enjoyed Take a Look at the Sea very much.'' Alex Cleary, https://www.tradebit.com
If you like bubbledumb pop such as Lilly Allen, Kate Nash, and yes Madonna then you will HATE this. But if you''ve ever had your guts ripped open and have half a brain, then If Wen''s music is quite simply amazing. It''s like having your heart strings hugged by a soothing Atlantic sea breeze. In the UK If Wen''s debut has been picked up by BBC DJs Tom Robinson, Sean Rowley, and Gary Crowley. And on US, Canadian and Australian radio it''s been playing out, with the title track making the top 50 for folk radioplay worldwide. MTV2 also have the video on rotation. All this is hardly suprising to us, because many reviewers absolutely love this music. We think If Wen sounds like Elliot Smith crossed with Donovan crossed with the Flaming Lips crossed with the Blue Nile crossed with Al Stewart crossed with Nick Drake - when what he really sounds like of course is - If Wen! Sort of breathy and sensitive, but also windswept. Anyway you can hear some samples here, and if you don''t like it then we simply do not care, just go back to the bubbledumb. If it does tug a string, then you should know that this is also an album with tracks in a quite specific order a lot like a "concept" vinyl LP - if the tracks play out in this way they tell a story of premonition, realisation, and ultimate redemption. There''s also exclusively a bonus track or two on the CD (sorry itunes and downloads}. Anyway we absolutely love this wonderful new Brit-folk album, and we hope you do too. Yours Folkwit Records, UK.
And here''s the full review by David Kidman, from the album reviews site https://www.tradebit.com:
"On first acquaintance, it''s easy to proclaim that fans of simple, likeable pastoral-folk whimsy of the Donovan kind will find much to enjoy in Take A Look At The Sea, the basic raw track for which was apparently recorded by singer-songwriter if wen sitting on the floor of a barn near the beach in West Cornall which provided the inspiration for this song-sequence. Add a dose of pro-mastering from Tim Dennen (who''d worked similar magic on basic tracks for Belle & Sebastian), and you''d never realise the recording''s humble and primitive origins. Musically, if wen''s songs inhabit the poppier side of acoustic folk: despite their subject matter (roughly speaking, the narrative of a break-up and its aftermath, set against a change in the weather, it would seem), the mood is mostly quite light-textured and wistfully romantic yet with some tougher electric moments (Give It All Away) and some sophisticated production touches, resulting in a quite sumptuous overall soundscape at times. I started off finding the writing and singing a bit underwhelming, but by around halfway through I was warming fast to if wen''s delivery and his appealing (though again fairly understated) gift for melody. By the time the CD was drawing to a close (and yes, I did notice the hidden bonus track), I was all ready to hit the replay button and start the sequence over again, and the whole album certainly grew on me much over subsequent plays. Take A Look At The Sea is a quite charming and fulfilling debut release from this wilfully enigmatic (and deliberately elusive) “English folkie with a battered guitar” (as he''s described on the website). Then again, careful scrutiny of the back digipack cover reveals the following credit: “if wen is gfurby”, which may be our only clue..."