Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Ken's Top 10 of 2015 - #4 - David Wax Museum - Guesthouse

Right from the start of album opener "Every Time Katie," you know that this album will be different from the usual David Wax Museum releases. While the Mexican influences are still there and lurking, they are far less prominent than they have been in the past. What you get with Guesthouse is a band trying something else and knocking it out of the park. When a band breaks through based on their breakout performances at the Newport Folk Festival, you don't really expect them to pull off electronic elements well. But they do by hinting at them just enough. The only time this falters a bit is with "Dark Night of the Heart," which put a little too much of a digital effect on their voices for the chorus. It ends up being as much stronger song live, but I would never fault a band for experimenting a little. By the third track, "Guesthouse," you get a true feel for the album. It's more of a celebratory song that defines David Wax Museum at their finest. They even tackle the tricky subject of parenthood spectacularly with "Everything Changes." For me, the standout song is the folk power ballad "Singing to Me," an ode to the superfan right up front that knows every word and deep down believes the songs are just for them.

You can listen to Guesthouse below via Spotify. Although, if you're a regular reader of this site, you've most likely heard enough to know if you want to by now.

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