Scott J Mason - Animal Guilt EP Review
Without delving into the meaning and inspiration behind the songs
one would potentially say how pleasant and serene this EP sounds. Each song is
well structured with beautiful folk arrangements that are full of feeling and
prose. Scott’s voice is silky and soulful with subtle nuances that you can hear
so clearly. Its tuneful and mournful no doubt, but the gentleness of each track
belies somewhat the deep and solemn meaning in the songs, which I wouldn’t want
to analyse too heavily, as it looks as though Scott was going through a tough
patch when forming these songs.
The EP begins with Of Me with a dark, bass piano that builds, but stays sparse yet rich and lush. Following this is the wonderful Be on your Guard accompanied by smooth violin from Dave Kahn, its breezy melody is tempered by its foreboding message, “someone is watching, someone is listening, someone is waiting for you to fall”… and then with Raise Your Glass we find a retort to Be on your Guard with Scott singing “No one is watching (or listening) to you… you fool” showing a fear and uneasiness, that the rich music, melody and singing conceal to a degree.
There are sweet and soulful folk ballads (tinged with melancholy) No Running, Good Man and Won’t Come Back each with wonderful acoustic guitar work and heart felt vocals, to think Scott spends most his time behind a set of drums seems a travesty of musicianship. My favourite is the rhythmic Lies with stomping drums, hand claps and occasional electric guitar riffs, a strong tune with another persuasive vocal performance from Scott. In all this EP is as intriguing as it is beautiful, which raises my curiosity and I look forward to hearing more solo work from Scott J Mason.
About Scott J Mason
Now based in Dunedin, Scott has been building a reputation as a composer with soundtracks for the international series Orangutan Jungle School (2 seasons), and tracks featured on Celebrity Treasure Island.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Scott J Mason
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