Aging Teen Idol - Brent Newbold

 Hey guys, I've got something special for you tonight, and it's not my grandmother's cheesecake recipe. Don't be too disappointed; she makes the worst cheesecake in the world. No, tonight I have for you the newest offering Aging Teen Idol from indie lone wolf Brent Newbold. Let's get into it.

My immediate first impression upon dropping the needle on the first track was "holy hell this is thick." When I call a song thick like that, I mean that there is a, incredibly full sound and many layers to peel back. At any given point throughout the songs, every instrument or element involved are very busy. It's honestly like a bottomless Olive Garden music salad. There are many ingredients involved, and just when you think you're full the waiter brings you another gigantic bowlful. What is intriguing about Newbold's music salad, however, is that while in most cases the riff or melody is the main component that the rest of the song is based around, (like the lettuce or baby spinach, or arugula if you nasty), in Newbold's case, the instrumentation seems to take a back burner to the vocals.

The way that each song is mixed, especially on tracks like "Torn Down," and "Today Becomes Tomorrow," the vocals are much louder and more up front than the other elements of the song. You have to really focus in to dissect the deeper elements, the percussion, keys, guitar riffs, synths, etc. (The fixin's of the salad - carrots, tomatoes, red onion, croutons, etc.) ...have I lost you completely with this salad metaphor yet? What I'm trying to say is, there's a lot of sound going on here, and much of the complexity of the song's instrumentation is almost buried underneath all of the heavy vocals. Normally, this would bother me. Okay, maybe it still does a little here. But it's obvious to see that this isn't poor mixing, it's a style choice. Because those prominent vocals I keep mentioning? They're nearly all harmonies and overdubs. With himself. I'm not sure that I have ever heard an entire record done this way, and it certainly gives Newbold a unique and memorable sound.

If you really dive into it, you'd find yourself an almost folky, punky, indie rock sound. It's refreshing, really. This is made especially clear on tracks such as "Lost Cause" and the instrumental intermission "Try Five." What throws a monkey into the wrench for me, is the seemingly out of place "Shu's Triumphant March Across the Rainbow Bridge." I won't say anything about this track, as I encourage you to spin the album yourself and discover what I might be talking about here.

At the end of the day, I think my biggest gripe with the record is actually found within the overdubs/harmonies I mentioned earlier. I love them as an element, and making them the front runner of each song is a very unique style choice. My drawback with them is that each layer of the harmony is singing in a very similar register to the others. To keep a harmony interesting, you need a few different voices coming together as one. Maybe throw in a lower note in there, and a couple higher ones. Give those harmonies some extra flavor. Kinda like what's going on during "Hope on the Horizon."

Aging Teen Idol - Brent Newbold

6 - 1 - 2020

1. Torn Down

2. Flashback

3. On the Bright Side

4. Today Becomes Tomorrow

5. Open Air

6. Try Five

7. Lost Cause

8. Shu's Triumphant March Across the Rainbow Bridge

9. Hope on the Horizon

10. Wonderful Obsession

11. Free Music on Matson

12. Trying to Live

Favorite Track: Open Air

Least Favorite Track: Today Becomes Tomorrow