Gnarly Stokes - Early Mornings (Vibe Shack Recordings)
Gnarly Stokes - Early Mornings |
So, first things first, awesome
name. Gnarly Stokes is a 17 year old from Ottawa and if his parents had the
foresight to name their son Gnarly Stokes then hats off to them. However, this
isn't a blog where I assess the naming abilities of Canadian breeders, no, this
is a blog about music so strap on the headphones and let's give this young man
a listen. This seven track album opens with 'Dreamin'' which is a pleasant
enough piece of Clapton inspired guitar noodling but doesn't really go anywhere
- appropriate title then. 'Justin Avery', I am reliably informed, is the
completion of a song started by Stokes' uncle before he died 10 years ago and
it's a chilled out piece of instrumental guitar work with a subtle slow beat
that fits the song nicely.
'Distracted', title track 'Early
Mornings' and 'Slept In' all continue in the same vein as computer processed
beats nudge the songs along at walking pace while Gnarly Stokes strums absent
mindedly along without any real sense of what he wants or where he's going. I
had high hopes that 'Alien Experimentation' would be some kind of Zappa-esque
wig out but it's more like incidental music from X-Files unfortunately. The
album finishes up with 'East Coast Summers' which has a summery, optimistic
vibe but is still essentially a variation on a theme which, after seven tracks,
loses its appeal fairly quickly. There's no doubting that young Gnarly can play
his guitar but, as is the problem with many a bedroom musician, there is no
sounding board for the tunes they produce and I think this young man needs a
band to contribute to.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gnarly-Stokes/1473159029584008?fref=ts
Listen/Download: https://gnarlystokes.bandcamp.com/album/early-mornings