Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Hayden Calvin and Novo Amor – Singer/Songwriter Reviews

     We suspect that everyone goes through phases in their musical tastes. Some phases are measured in weeks, such as an increased appreciation for folk or electronica. Others last for months, such as a raised interest in a particular instrument.
     The point? Well, we have been trying to prevent our Bon Iveresque phase from playing too large of a role in what is posted on Indie Obsessive. Oddly, the draw is not to Bon Iver; it’s to bands that have that characteristic sound, but with an increase in energy. Still, while guarding against undue influence of this phase on posts, we don’t hesitate to introduce Hayden Calnin to Indie Obsessive.

     We heard Calnin’s latest release “Coward” when the song hit Soundcloud three days ago. After listening a few times, it was time to see if Calnin has other songs that are as enjoyable. That’s how we discovered “Shutters,” which immediately became our favorite by this artist. That lasted only until we heard “For My Help.”
     If we had looked at the waveform of “For My Help” before listening to the song, there would have been skepticism. The sequence of spikes is a characteristic of electronica. But in “For My Help,” most of the spikes occur because of vocals, horns and percussion. He identifies his genre as Folktronic. It’s all very effective. But particularly attractive is the energy explosion that occurs at the 3:44 mark of the song. 
     Hayden Calnin is based in Melbourne, Australia. “For My Help” by Hayden Calnin

     “Shutters” by Hayden Calnin

     *Coward” by Hayden Calnin


     Stopping now would be a mistake. Another artist who clearly outmaneuvers Bon Iver with respect to its sound is Ali Lacey, who uses the moniker Novo Amor. He is from Cardiff in the UK. A couple of months ago, he released “From Gold.” The song combines qualities of our current phase with a feature that we have always loved – a progressive energy build that only stops when the song nears its completion. The song is currently available on Bandcamp on a “name your price” basis. So, embeded below are both the Soundcloud and Bandcamp streaming opportunities. 
      "From Gold" by Novo Amor


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