Greg Laswell: Through Toledo (Vanguard/Shock)

 |   |  <1 min read

Greg Laswell: Through Toledo (Vanguard/Shock)

The world is so cluttered with singer-songwriters that excellent albums like Josh Rouse's recent Subtitulo can go right past people. (That's a hint)

I expect this pop-rock outing by San Diego-based Laswell -- who plays just about every instrument here -- could suffer a similarly undeserved fate.

But there's a lot to like on these melodically meaty songs, some of which swirl and soar on an orchestral uplift of stacked up electric guitars.

There are elements of a more gritty Coldplay here, some similar emotional resonances as Jeff Buckley (without the vocal bravura), intelligent dynamics, and a broodiness that is compelling.

Got a feeling this guy is a real grower.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Doris Troy: I'll Do Anything, The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996 (Kent/Border)

Doris Troy: I'll Do Anything, The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996 (Kent/Border)

When Doris Troy died in Las Vegas in 2004 at age 67, her obituaries seemed like a who's who namecheck of her era. No obit for this New York daughter of a preacher was complete without mentioning... > Read more

Across the Great Divide: Uncommon Ground (CurioMusic)

Across the Great Divide: Uncommon Ground (CurioMusic)

This mostly instrumental album which steers a path between Celtic music, its roots in Americana and more contemporary takes on those sources plays its aces in the second half, notably on pieces the... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

THE BARGAIN BUY: Michael Jackson; Off the Wall

THE BARGAIN BUY: Michael Jackson; Off the Wall

Although Thriller was the bigger album (about 60 million sold), Off the Wall (with a paltry 20 million or so) is just a whole lot more danceable fun. It contained the dancefloor fillers Don't... > Read more

Paul Revere and the Raiders: Greatest Hits (1967)

Paul Revere and the Raiders: Greatest Hits (1967)

Yes, a greatest hits collection does look a bit like cheating for an Essential Elsewhere album. But wait, there’s a good reason. Back in the mid-Sixties after the Beatles breakthrough... > Read more