ALBUM REVIEW: Friendly Rich - Man Out Of Time
Released March of this year, French-Canadian Artist "Friendly Rich" provides an eclectic and exciting variety of soundscapes in his album "Man Out of Time". Featuring both French (Québécois?) and English tracks, I'm excited to give you my quick thoughts on this newest release from record label "The Pumpkin Pie Corporation"
We'll start with the intro track, which serves as a prime example of most of my initial impressions of the first half of this album. I think the first two things that would hit any listener of "Man Out of Time" are the uniquely gruff vocals and impressive instrumentation. Whilst the vocals may not be what a typical listener expects, they suit the vibe of the album well in my opinion. If you're not a fan however, they only get more "out there" throughout the rest of the album.
I do think, however, that the beautifully orchestrated strings and brass - plus that wonderful acoustic guitar line - will capture many people's attention. It certainly did mine, and the impressive soundscapes Friendly Rich creates only get more interesting as the album goes on.
A particular favourite of mine in the first half of this album is "Killdozer". One of the heavier songs on the album, the punchy drum beat and heavy guitar riff make this an infectious listen. Not many tracks can pull off a scatting synth crescendo, but this one definitely works for me.
I must admit however, some songs in the first half of the album were a little too crazy even for me. "Kiddos & Doggos" is an impressive exercise in production, but probably not one I'll be listening to again outside of an album context.
Where the album features its best hits in my view is the second half, which seems to take on a somewhat less abstract and cooler approach than the chaotic, energy-packed first. One of my favourites on the album kicks off this good run, "Salvation Mountain".
With a floating soundscape of accordion (I think?), synth and warbling distorted guitar, this is a surprisingly mellowed track with wonderful lyrics. I'm a big fan of the backup vocals on "Salvation Mountain" too, definitely check this one out.
"Bozo" is another fairly chilled out track I'm a big fan of, that also comes towards the end of this album. Featuring french vocals and an impressive acoustic opener, this track is one of the more stripped back features from the album. There's an emotion to the track that transcends the mild absurdity of a very deep-voiced French-Canadian man singing the word "Bozo", that really hits deep when the subtle string melody kicks in.
There's plenty more I could say about the rest of the latter half of this album, but I feel a lot of the fun of listening to "Man Out of Time" comes from following the wild tonal shifts and turns it takes you down. You never know what kind of crazy sound you'll get next and, whilst they might not all be everyone's cups of tea, I definitely found some shining gems I'll be keeping on my playlists for a while. Friendly Rich's "Man Out of Time" is an album I definitely recommend you check out.
