David Zweig
All Now With Wings
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David Zweig
All Now With Wings
Flow, 2000
RiYL: Dave Matthews Band, David Gray, Sting |
The CD starts with a faint R.E.M.-like song that sounds like it is playing through a transistor radio before building into a surreal instrumental. "Anything & Everything" packs an emotional charge that picks you up in its musical wave, and when Zweig's uplifting vocals finally chime in, pushes you to the crest.
Zweig shows off his pop sensibilities with songs like "I Know It's Time" and "Goodbye," two pop/rock songs that highlight his strong impassioned vocals and solid guitar work, and "Fall Apart" which incorporates Britpop influences. Zweig is able to incorporate just enough pop characteristics into his work to attract the listener without alienating his disposition for intricate and textured musical soundscapes.
Under an unskilled hand this album could have sunk under its multi tracks and ambition, but producer Keith Cleversley (Flaming Lips, Hum) is able to guide all the pieces into place. Collaborating with members of the Navy Marching Band, the Chicago Symphony and a gospel choir, Zweig and Cleversley take the singer/songwriter base and add enough texture to create an epic musical experience. Sidestepping the "pretentious artist" sinkhole, Zweig brings a sense of truth combined with raw emotion to songs so intricate that without such an honest base the album would be classified as an exercise in excess.
KEVIN MAURER |