 | Will Stratton |
Will Stratton is a NYC-area singer-songwriter who released this album No Wonder in October last year and as I have been listening to it pretty solidly over the past week I have to say I am very impressed here and this is some great, great stuff. Generally a very chilled out, spacious acoustic kind of sound, he really sets a great mood and a great tone with these songs. Great wintry kinds of songs, just really mellow and soft and really really well put together.
This would fit in very well with the 60s pop-folk stylings coming out of Scandanavia such as Sondre Lerche and Kings of Convenience. Drums make only sporadic appearances throughout and often we have a classical/acoustic guitar with his soft voice sometimes augmented by some interesting instrumentation such as a horn or some other instrument that is different but just works perfectly in the song. He has female vocal accompaniment on many of the songs, and all of these elements are expertly put together to create a real weight and feeling to the songs.
Occasionally he does dabble into some more upbeat folk-pop kinds of numbers with electric guitars and even some distortion and feedback. Even with the difference between some songs, it all flows together so well, and these numbers really are great changes of pace for the record which makes it so the record is not just totally somber, but actually has some beat and some lift to it.
I am extremely impressed with this album and this will be a staple in the player for some time to come for sure. I just wish I had known about this record before the end of last year, as it would have certainly been in the running for my top albums of last year. Simple, familiar, bittersweet, the album just has a lot of classic elements and they are all done so well that there are really no down tracks or filler in here, and everything just works well. I do highly recommend checking this one out, it looks like he is basically only playing shows locally in NYC at the moment, but if any other tour news comes up I will pass it along.
BV Rate: 84
Will Stratton – Who Will – From No Wonder
Will Stratton – Your California Sky – From No Wonder
