Justin
Lantrip – Paper Bird (Independent)
Justin Lantrip is making waves in his hometown of
Sandpoint, Idaho, and “Paper Bird” should see him broadening his fanbase
considerably - perhaps even finding an international audience. This is his
third album (“I Am My Will” was released in 2010 and “Bleed Then Bloom” in
2012), and he barely puts a foot wrong. He’s a singer-songwriter at heart, and
the production and arrangements on “Paper Bird” place his voice and songs,
front and centre. His soulful tone does much to separate him from the pack, and
his musicianship and studio nous – he recorded the album himself - plays to all
his strengths.
It’s a collection that suits nighttime listening. The
recording is warm and inviting, and you’ll want to sit, concentrate and listen
to its drama unfold, glass in hand, rather than hear it through a miasma of
daytime distractions. For the most part “Paper Bird” is ruminative and thought
provoking; it’s imagery sharp and Lantrip’s conclusions oblique. Repeated spins
reveal a multitude of musical layers, from keyboards to strings, and his songs,
whether upbeat and spirited like opener “Razor Blue”, “Who Was I” and the nigh
on perfect “Kentucky Sore” (with added violin and complimentary backing
vocals), or downbeat and desperate like the title track and “Blue Chagrin”, are both emotionally flayed and
faultlessly executed.
Phil S.
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