Special thanks to Angela and Stephanie for making the translation happen. I think I want to learn some Dutch as the construction of the language seems (in translation) to be quite wild and fantastic.
Daryl Pierce comes from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. This is a place that is too beautiful not to mention in the beginning of this cd review. Together with his brothers Mike and Kevin, guitarist Kimbal Siebert and drummer Joseph Ashong, he has been in a music band under his name for a few years. You can place them in the same catagory as names like Paul Simon, Sting and XTC. In their opinion they’ve hit the jackpot with a few idols from the pop industry like The Police, Muse, Daniel Lanois and Massive Attack.
Daryl Pierce himself plays the upright bass, the synthesizer and, in eleven songs, he proves his talent on this first nameless cd. His voice is soul flavour and the music, created from modern pop with acoustic instruments and some electronic computer sounds, together make a complete sound. The complete sound is also partly because of the fabulous arrangements of the songs on the album.
Songs like the upbeat opener “Objectify” and “Blanket” are perfect for airplay on the popular radio stations. “Fame”, “Iceberg”, “Expatriate” and “Conviction” are a little bit more experimental, have more samples and ethereal sounds. And if we can select our favourite song of the album, we would choose for “Innocence”, which is sung in a very laid back fashion with minimal musical support. In this song I hear mostly the orchestra like the way Daniel Lanois does it with his songs. Also the instrumental “Watering Hole” deserves a honorable mention because of the atmosphere that it creates and for its character.
Daryl Pierce gets inspiration for the lyrics from things that happen to him in daily life; for example, his love life and what happens to him in his direct environment. This debut cd is recorded a few years ago and is internally released at this moment. We wish Daryl Pierce all the success that he is dreaming of and waiting for for a long time.
When I was young I would lay on the living room floor with a CD player and a set of headphones. I would shut my eyes and listen to the entire CD. It’s like having a profound little conversation between the music and your brain. Anyone who has listened to the very, bitter, bitter end of “Soul Cages” will know what I mean. There are ideas, constructed and inspired that are built into these recordings we listen to. I suppose it’s no wonder that when I put my hand to producing music this experience is a driving force in what I try to accomplish. Yes, I am one of those headphone bands. Please take some time in the next day to just do nothing but listen to an entire piece of music (album, concert, whatever) on the best playback system you can find. The experience is good for the part of you that needs to experience something good.
One caution, some recordings today are designed to be insanely loud. If you find yourself wanting to switch off the music because of a confused or anxious feeling then pick something else and try again, the loudness is probably why.
“Goodnight!”