I’m here to talk about the overall feeling of the album Apparitions from Gentlemen’s Crow. This album took me on a ride that I feel was actually calmer than the content I’ve previously reviewed, so I had a hard time finding the words at first. Gentleman's Crow is based out of St. Augustine, FL and they are Blues Style Indie Rock, which I think is a super underrated groove to have. I’m the kind of fan that wants all of my artists and bands I get into to match my moods because nine times out of ten, their lyrics make more sense than the words that I would otherwise use for how I feel.
Track 1: “Let You Get Away”
Impending doom-- like a woman after her man when she finds out he cheated. This song in and of itself is extremely intense because she’s running away and he’s chasing her, which is not good since he is in outrage. The outrage comes through instrumentally, adding depth to the already appalled tone the lyrics have. One word to describe this is “Fierce.”
Track 2: “Technical Romancer”
This track has atmospheric suspense where our main man is now questioning his woman’s faith in him as a partner, trying to find the details. He admits he’s not fully good, but still decent enough. “Serious” is the word for my description of this track. I was on the edge of my seat listening to the track because of the bone-chilling drop of the bass drum.
Track 3: “Did I Get The Picture”
The protagonist of this song is asking his girl if he had gotten and understood her full story. The camera mentioned in the lyrics is her memory and he is asking her if they were even in the same headspace since now it doesn’t feel like their stories are aligned. My word for this track’s overall tone would be “Bewildered” since he seems confused. The dazed tone in the instrumentals strongly compliments the tone of the lyrics, leaving me feeling speechless.
Track 4: “Taxi to your Toxic Lover”
This track is self-explanatory. The woman is toxic saying she loves him, but she is lying. In response, he tells her to go back to her toxic lover and he’ll be the taxi since they were obviously like gunpowder and dynamite combined together all at once. The protagonist is like "I've been so committed all this time but have also been so hurt by you that I want to drop you off with the one before me myself." He is really emotionally damaged by her deeds toward him. For this track, I will use the word “Drastic” because of the overall theme.
Track 5: “Comical”
In this track the main voice in the song is laughing in the face of how true love takes time.The woman is going way too fast for his taste and he thinks she’s insane for it. “Crazed” would be my description of this track’s tone.
Track 6: “Parallel West”
“Parallel West” is the most progressive song on the album. You are basically being taken through the door where you are sensing that both partners in the relationship feel the same amount of grief because they both feel defeated. This song’s tone to me is “Synchronous.” The guitar, drums, and bass are in parallel octaves while the vocals are a tad bit higher, making the tone the way it is.
Track 7: “Driving Away (From The Real Me)”
This song talks about you conforming with people enough where you tear away the stages and phases that make you who you are and it touches on the danger of us doing that for the wrong people. This track is masterful! I would give this track’s tone the description of “menacing” since the nature of the song’s topic is on another level. The way the band comes in with Cameron Moratis’ vocals sounds like a car revving up its engine.
Track 8: “Quandary”
This track, guitar-wise, is influenced by the likes of Aerosmith’s “Cryin’” that I picked up on immediately. The blues-based indie rock charisma is electrifying. My word to describe this track is “Stirring.” “Quandary” is the most distinguishable on the whole album. Cameron has an old-school 1950s vocal quality similar to Elvis Presley's tone in "Heartbreak Hotel."
Track 9: "Howlin’"
This is a straight-up jam! The drive from the song’s drums is stellar and the band’s whole attitude is the highest it’s been on this whole record. The word that I will use for this track’s energy alone is “potent.” The instrumentation of this final track is by far the most layered and dynamic I have heard thus far, making it a powerful way to end the album.
Although I would not crank this album on the way to a concert, I still feel like this would be the album to have on during a summer vacation at the beach. If you appreciate calmness when you need to reflect on certain stressful situations then Apparitions from Gentleman’s Crow would certainly be the LP for you. The album has recently been released on January 28th and is available on all streaming platforms.
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