Gregory Robson
03/02/10, 09:21 AM
Peter Bradley Adams - Traces
Record Label: Sarathan Records
Release Date: Oct. 20, 2009
“I guess in this culture of ever-shortening attention spans, it’s good if a song can lift us out of the madness, even if only for a few minutes.” – Peter Bradley Adams
Peter Bradley Adams co-founded and fronted the AAA-radio darlings EastMountainSouth, a band much revered by Cameron Crowe, who featured them in his movie Elizabethtown. The group also garnered the attention of influential radio station KCRW, who played the band quite frequently. Peter co-produced the group's debut (and only) album with Mitchell Froom, and the duo toured extensively opening for Lucinda Williams, Tracy Chapman, and performed their final show at the Hollywood Bowl opening for Lyle Lovett and Shelby Lynn. Now as a solo artist, Traces marks his third full-length, following on the heels of his critically-lauded debut Gather Up and its equally praised successor Leavetaking.
As a whole, Traces is incredibly subdued, with many of the orchestrations featuring just him and a guitar, or him and a piano. A cello, tenor guitar, mandolin, violin and a wealth of female harmonies are interspersed throughout, but for the most part, this is a disc that focuses on Adams, his words and his voice. This implicit devotion to simplicity is what makes Traces so profound. His well-worn croon has the familiarity of threadbare jeans or an oversized sweatshirt and his supple acoustic textures have the kind of no-frills, no-nonsense charm that could find a fan in an eight-year-old or eighty-year-old.
His songs are airy, nostalgic and ageless. Their infinite grace envelopes the listening experience in a manner that is both cinematic and lyrical. An undeterred romantic, much of Traces details Adams' amalgam of emotions from either newfound love or newly lost love. From start to finish, each of the compositions is a sweetly affecting valentine and a focused study in how emotion, compassion and honesty can be conveyed so well with so little.
The panged first single "For You," finds the singer decreeing, "If your fortune ever fails you, and you're down without a dime to see you through, there's still luck that you can find, you have a piece of mine, yeah, I'll make a wish for you." Buttressed by a palette of warm acoustic guitar, it is a solacing tonic to devotion, romance and indefatigability.
Other standouts include the candid "I Cannot Settle Down," which has a summery texture destined for a porch swing; and the intimate eulogy "From the Sky," featuring a cozy piano line and Adam's plaintive pondering. When he sings, "There's a sound as your breathing slows, as the stillness around you grows, there's a sound that you have always known. There's a sound familiar to your bones," it has the kind of grace and warmth that seems ripe to soothe infirmity.
The light frolic of an electric guitar signals the beginning to "Trace of You," and "Walk Away," which have a roots-folk sentiment that seems to borrow from The Byrds or Counting Crows. On a more subdued note, the relentless "I Won't," makes its claim as one of the album's brightest moments and is fueled by a diamond-peaked piano line. On album closer "Awaken," Adams adds Native American chanting to give the exercise an originality and texture that sets it apart from the rest. Of the dozen songs on Traces none are as richly layered, focused and complete as "Awaken," and it is that execution that makes the listening experience that much more rewarding.
Adams' steadfast devotion to placidity is certainly no mistake and its breathtaking results are both deeply profound and moving. Nocturnal, languorous and quiet, Traces is a gorgeous record with shimmering peaks and few, if any, flaws. Its inherent potency is certain to find favor with each of its listeners. Regardless of who approaches it, resonance and connectivity will result.
1. Family Name
2. For You
3. Trace Of You
4. I Cannot Settle Down
5. I Won't
6. From the Sky
7. Darkening Sky
8. I Tell Myself
9. Heart of a Girl
10. Something Bout You Lately
11. Walk Away
12. Awaken
Bill Deasy, Luke Brindley, Nick Drake, Alexi Murdoch, Nicholas Sparks' novels, 500 Days of Summer
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/peterbradleyadams)
Website (http://www.peterbradleyadams.com)
Record Label: Sarathan Records
Release Date: Oct. 20, 2009
“I guess in this culture of ever-shortening attention spans, it’s good if a song can lift us out of the madness, even if only for a few minutes.” – Peter Bradley Adams
Peter Bradley Adams co-founded and fronted the AAA-radio darlings EastMountainSouth, a band much revered by Cameron Crowe, who featured them in his movie Elizabethtown. The group also garnered the attention of influential radio station KCRW, who played the band quite frequently. Peter co-produced the group's debut (and only) album with Mitchell Froom, and the duo toured extensively opening for Lucinda Williams, Tracy Chapman, and performed their final show at the Hollywood Bowl opening for Lyle Lovett and Shelby Lynn. Now as a solo artist, Traces marks his third full-length, following on the heels of his critically-lauded debut Gather Up and its equally praised successor Leavetaking.
As a whole, Traces is incredibly subdued, with many of the orchestrations featuring just him and a guitar, or him and a piano. A cello, tenor guitar, mandolin, violin and a wealth of female harmonies are interspersed throughout, but for the most part, this is a disc that focuses on Adams, his words and his voice. This implicit devotion to simplicity is what makes Traces so profound. His well-worn croon has the familiarity of threadbare jeans or an oversized sweatshirt and his supple acoustic textures have the kind of no-frills, no-nonsense charm that could find a fan in an eight-year-old or eighty-year-old.
His songs are airy, nostalgic and ageless. Their infinite grace envelopes the listening experience in a manner that is both cinematic and lyrical. An undeterred romantic, much of Traces details Adams' amalgam of emotions from either newfound love or newly lost love. From start to finish, each of the compositions is a sweetly affecting valentine and a focused study in how emotion, compassion and honesty can be conveyed so well with so little.
The panged first single "For You," finds the singer decreeing, "If your fortune ever fails you, and you're down without a dime to see you through, there's still luck that you can find, you have a piece of mine, yeah, I'll make a wish for you." Buttressed by a palette of warm acoustic guitar, it is a solacing tonic to devotion, romance and indefatigability.
Other standouts include the candid "I Cannot Settle Down," which has a summery texture destined for a porch swing; and the intimate eulogy "From the Sky," featuring a cozy piano line and Adam's plaintive pondering. When he sings, "There's a sound as your breathing slows, as the stillness around you grows, there's a sound that you have always known. There's a sound familiar to your bones," it has the kind of grace and warmth that seems ripe to soothe infirmity.
The light frolic of an electric guitar signals the beginning to "Trace of You," and "Walk Away," which have a roots-folk sentiment that seems to borrow from The Byrds or Counting Crows. On a more subdued note, the relentless "I Won't," makes its claim as one of the album's brightest moments and is fueled by a diamond-peaked piano line. On album closer "Awaken," Adams adds Native American chanting to give the exercise an originality and texture that sets it apart from the rest. Of the dozen songs on Traces none are as richly layered, focused and complete as "Awaken," and it is that execution that makes the listening experience that much more rewarding.
Adams' steadfast devotion to placidity is certainly no mistake and its breathtaking results are both deeply profound and moving. Nocturnal, languorous and quiet, Traces is a gorgeous record with shimmering peaks and few, if any, flaws. Its inherent potency is certain to find favor with each of its listeners. Regardless of who approaches it, resonance and connectivity will result.
1. Family Name
2. For You
3. Trace Of You
4. I Cannot Settle Down
5. I Won't
6. From the Sky
7. Darkening Sky
8. I Tell Myself
9. Heart of a Girl
10. Something Bout You Lately
11. Walk Away
12. Awaken
Bill Deasy, Luke Brindley, Nick Drake, Alexi Murdoch, Nicholas Sparks' novels, 500 Days of Summer
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/peterbradleyadams)
Website (http://www.peterbradleyadams.com)