Rating: ****1/2
Jared Weiss is a New York-based artist that's equal parts singer-songwriter and rock and roller.
He's got a new album called "Isolated Thunderstorms" that, like many artistic expressions, is born from pain and suffering. I mean, it's sad the artist has to go through all that, but boy has it created some amazing music.
From what I understand, Weiss has a little bit of Bowie, Lou Reed, and Jeff Buckley in him. That's what I like to hear.
So I'm gonna dive in now. I'll report back later.
Listen to "Isolated Thunderstorms" on Spotify here:
Oh shit, I really dig dude's voice. It's kinda like Jack White and Brian Molko from Placebo had a baby that was trying to sound like Lou Reed. The opening track "Isolated Thunderstorms" is a rocking delight. Really strong. "Annalu" is next and it's a poppy almost-love song. This dude can really write a melody. I'm really liking this so far. "Get Out of My Head" has a Supertramp vibe. It's another piece of pure melodic rock and roll perfection. "Not Everything That Dies Grows Old" is more Dylan than Supertramp. This is the rare record where every single track has a distinctive voice. The prevailing theme is the strong melody and hook. So good. "Can't Remember Your Name" is more basic and straightforward than the rest, but that isn't meant to discount what a strong track it is. "Isolated Thunderstorms II" is less sequel and more re-imagining. A little folk-y and much more understated than the original track, it's amazing nonetheless. "Julia" and "Almost All of Me" are both strong album rock tracks that have varying degrees of sounding like they are show tunes with the latter sounding straight off of Broadway. "Saving Tomorrow" is incredible. This is really an excellent album. Might get 5 stars from me. Fuck, I don't know. It's gonna be close. "Reni" is a White Stripe-ish old-timey ballad. It works well enough, but it's not spectacular. The last track is "Elusive Particle" and it's a badass slow-burn rocker to end things on.
Almost flawless. Really impressive. I'm 99.9% fans of rock are going to love this. The other 0.1% are wrong. Almost my highest recommendation.