Wesley MacNeil – Honestly…

Wesley MacNeil – Honestly…

Vocally, I’ve always vouched for MacNeil. He has this crooked, wistful voice – off in just about all the right places at the right times.

I was first introduced to Wesley’s music via Bandcamp. His former band and project, Basement Tapes, had to my knowledge only ever released one thing – A six-track EP entitled Demo (released for free!).

Minute as it may have been, I connected with Demo, and to this day can still feel every single strum of the guitars, and appreciate just about every single lyric those three guys put together.

Whilst not being entirely appropriately titled, I found Demo to be something I’d been missing for a long, long time. It leaked lengths of passion similar to the likes of LA DISPUTE’s Wildlife and provoked me into a semi-self destructive, yet deeply reflective state – one I’d known had always existed but never dared to explore prior.

Although, whilst finding some difficulties with continuing the Basement Tapes project, MacNeil took his vocal obscurities elsewhere, leading his new band TEACHER – a heavier, much more flamboyant outfit – and pursuing a solo creative venture, having now recorded and released this four track EP ‘Honestly...’

It’s shuffled under ‘Folk’ – but I wouldn’t be so quick to pin this one down. Soft spoken, soft sounding, and a terrifically heartfelt end product. It’s clear from first track to last, MacNeil has ached over his craft for some time, but it is also solid proof that talent will shine through if the effort matches it.

I could quite easily reel off ten to twenty singer-songwriters who have dabbled in a similar style to MacNeil, but in my honest opinion that would be slack, and plain lazy journalism. My advice would be to go into this one blank minded, perhaps even open armed, because what you’ll come to find and possibly adore, is that this whole EP feels an important one. Great lengths of time and effort have gone into the initial writing of this material, and it evidently means a great deal to the artist – unfortunately that has become something of a rarity these days, so lap it up guys!

Edgy in places, and most certainly eloquent throughout; MacNeil drenches us in angst, but it’s more appropriate than you’d first come to imagine. A truly soulful record, and one hell of a debut solo. Check it OUT, and definitely keep peeled for what he and the other cool cats at TEACHER are gonna’ do next!

Swap Shop: LA DISPUTE – WILDLIFE

LA DISPUTE – Wildlife

When I asked my good friend and co-writer Robbie for a dose of something heavy, little did I expect it would extend to this magnitude.

He presented me with ‘WILDLIFE’ – a 57 minute album from the band LA DISPUTE. The record captures its listening audience in an instant, offering obscure instrumentals packed full with heavy riffs and crunching drum lines. The album leaves the listener with no real space for thought, at times proving too much to grasp.

It’s emotionally exhausting, and whilst it’s beautifully fresh and energetic, it takes a whole lot to reach the end of the record without having at least questioned your existence once. Sitting down to listen to this album is a task of sorts – merely having it on as background noise not ever an option. It demands the attention of everyone within a listening distance, and throws you into a pit of misery to see how you’ll cope. It’s a fully engaging piece of hybrid metal, and one which I’d suggest you approach with caution.

Lead Vocalist Jordan Dreyer conveys a true sadness through his voice, which also at times proves emotionally draining. The nearest I could get to was a pissed off Brian Molko (Placebo) but even that doesn’t come close. Think Atreyu, think AFI, think of throwing down in fisticuffs with your boss. It’s a savage, suffocating hour – one which I attempted to conquer and many times failed.

Lyrically it’s poetry in it’s purest of forms. Heartfelt, pain-drenched, everything one should come to appreciate after a few listens. I believe that this record takes time, and conditioning. You put it on and get thrown into a whirlwind of hatred, you see that you survive, and then you start to look around and discover. Beautiful in its own right, scary to those who look on from the outside. Dreyer and his merry men managed to create a record that questions life and still make it sound groundbreakingly original. Check it out on their website where the band are currently streaming the whole thing for free!

– Luke Bartlett