Ladies and gentlemen tonight I have for you yet another early peek at an upcoming EP. Survival Vs Creation is the next release by California native Nathan Peter Illes, due out January 14th. The exciting news is, your friendly neighborhood Synic is here with a heads up of what to expect. It was given to me with the heads up that it would be a mellow listen, but I'll go through it track for track and give you guys the lowdown- Boz Scaggs style. (Only a few of my cultured readers will get that joke)
The EP opens with "Holy Ghost," certainly one of the more mellow tracks to have passed through my earholes since starting this blog, but there's something about it that instantly worked for me. It's composed quite beautifully yet simply, however it is quite complex in its simplicity. You can give this track a real deep listen and pick out all the individual layers within it. Any of my loyal readers can attest to the fact that well-executed harmonies are very important to me, and this opening song nails it by all accounts. I find it almost reminiscent of Seals & Crofts, or Crosby, Stills & Nash. Maybe even a dash of Ben Folds. It certainly is a mellow listen, but it could have been several minutes longer and I wouldn't have minded.
Track 2 is entitled "Gold Mine," and it continues along the easy listening, decaf-rock tone that was set by the opener. This one, however, breaks up the pattern a little with a more interesting percussion part that keeps me on my toes as an avid air-drummer. It is subtle differences like these that keep a track unique from its predecessor. Otherwise, to the music listener that doesn't always indulge in the softer world of decaf-rock (like myself) these songs could potentially start to sound the same as each other. But that's not necessarily happening here.
Track 3, "Helpless To Your Magic," subs out the drum part from track 2 and puts in its place a melancholy but beautiful piano melody. Truth be told, I wasn't fully engaged with this one until almost the very end when I could hear the ever so subtle inclusion of a new instrument, and full disclosure I couldn't make out exactly what it was, but I wanted more of it. It could've been of the wind or strings family, again I'm not entirely positive, but throughout the whole song I was thinking to myself, this is BEGGING for strings. I really wanted a legato cello just weeping through the whole piece. And towards the end of the song, I got something to that effect, just not enough of it.
The fourth track is called "You'll Probably Never Get It," and right off the bat there was something about it that bothered me. It took me a minute, but i eventually got it. (Get it? Heh.) This 4th track features a lot of synthesized sounds and electronic percussion that takes me almost completely out of the experience. Nathan has such a beautiful Seals & Crofts style voice, but his light and melancholy falsetto is almost lost in the cracks here. With some different mixing, and real percussion over digital, he could have something really beautiful here. I'm all for experimentation, but it doesn't always work out the way you want it to.
The final track of the EP, "She Matters," brings the piano back into play, with more unusual percussion. It kinda sounds like a wood plank being dropped on a concrete floor with an echo coming a split second later. It's a fun effect, but my favorite parts of the song are the parts without this effect. Luckily, this song is mixed differently so that his voice takes center stage on it more so than on the previous track.
Collectively, I think there is a lot for Nathan to be proud of here. He has one of the best voices and strongest harmonies that I have heard in a long while. The musicianship is also pretty solid, I like the way it all comes together in its melancholy yet charming, simple yet complex design. Going forward, I really want to hear this guy singing with only a cajon and a cello behind him. Okay, maybe an acoustic guitar too. Mellow for my taste, sure, but I would certainly listen again.
Survival Vs Creation - Nathan Peter Illes
1 - 14 - 2021
1. Holy Ghost
2. Gold Mine
3. Helpless To Your Magic
4. You'll Probably Never Get It
5. She Matters
Favorite Track: Gold Mine
Least Favorite Track: You'll Probably Never Get It
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