An Instrumental Feast: Erik Daniel Releases New Album – A Review

Canadian releases new album.

Prior to this review, I had had an interview with Erik Danieĺ, a musician based in Canada. So, you can say I had expectations going into Erik Daniel’s review of his new album.

In the interview, Erik Daniel singled out Paul Simon as his favourite musician. Erik Daniel said that he's inspired by Simon’s ‘willingness to abandon his prior sounds or influences, and follow his musical heart fully into whatever direction he's feeling pulled at the time’. So I kinda expected the sounds from Erik Daniel's new album, Guilty Party, to be all over the place.

The first two songs on Guilty Party (‘Asking A Lot' and ‘Not Today’) are mostly forgettable, but I start to get impressed on the third song, ‘Never The Same'. The song starts with an exquisite sequence of drums, but my excitement is cut off by Erik Danieĺ’s quick addition of the guitar. I wouldn't have minded if the drums had gone for longer.

‘Never The Same Again' arrested my attention so much so that I repeated it about five times. It's a song that can really grow on me. At the end of the song, Erik Danieĺ just lets the drum and guitar play.

My gripe with Erik Daniel has more to do with how I can't hear what he’s singing about.

Erik Daniel switches gear on ‘Breath By Breath'. The song starts with the guitar, and then drums kick in immediately (in a space of a second).

I am just a face through a window

Give me space, you don't know what I know

Don't pull over, asking if I need a ride

I don't need a ride

I'm doing just fine

I don't need a ride

I don't need a ride

Reading from the lyrics of ‘Breath By Breath', you sense a defiant Erik Daniel. On his walk, he instructs some driver not to offer him a ride.

This is an almost perfect song. Two reasons: I love the beautiful melody that Erik Daniel strikes with the drum and guitar; and since I can hear part of the lyrics, I'm able to reconstruct the imagery of Erik Daniel not wanting a ride on his walk. Moreover, I like that the singer repeated himself

I don't need a ride

I don't need a ride

‘You never find me until I let you', he sings in ‘A Face In The Crowd’. Who's this person he's addressing, you're left wondering.

What's unique about this song is that it has a part sung from a different voice or tone. At first, it sounds like an introduction of a news clip, but it might be Erik Danieĺ singing in a different tone.

The drums are subdued in ‘Like Water', Erik Daniel preferring to highlight the guitar and what I feel to be a piano. On this song, Erik Daniel tries a couple of instrumental melodies, which is a delightful thing. Couple that with his deepish voice, and you'll enjoy it when he sings ‘Be like water….’ The song is disappointingly short.

‘I Know You’ is an interesting song title. Before listening to the song, you think to yourself: ‘You know me? What do you know about me?’

Again, the instruments, when he lets them play sans the lyrics or words, are a delight to listen to. Similar to the album's first song, which I said was almost forgettable, there's a jazzy or reggae feel to ‘I Know You'.

‘Not Who I Am Anymore' is another of those songs whose lyrics are hard to catch. You can hear snatches hear and there, but why that hard work for the listener?

‘My voice is a broken record', he sings on ‘Broken Record'.

When reviewing an album, there's always a song you wanna hear again after the review's done. Call it ‘bookmarking' or ‘songmarking', if you will.

I don't remember which musician said this, but that critics should take more time reviewing music, is true. Alas, we don’t have that luxury.

‘Broken Record' is a song I wanna hear again. And this is true for some of the songs on Guilty Party.

Listening to ‘Wherever You Go' reminds me that I love the piano. Of course Erik Danieĺ does more on the song, trying this instrument, trying that instrument. But the song stands on those piano chords and when you listen to the song again, this time factoring in his voice and words, which are more like chants, you can forgive the album for the songs you didn't find appealing. But what's unforgivable is the volume on the album's songs.

Guilty Party comes out on June 24.