SOHN : "Trust"

 

British singer/ producer Christopher Michael Taylor is releasing his third full length under this moniker. Normally more of an electronic artist, there are more organic elements like guitars, though the modus operandi seems to be more electronic based. I am sure this was done by means of a digital audio workstation.  the first song holds more substance, rather than the more intangible melody of the second song. He bounces back with the gripping soul of "MIA". Being a producer, he excels at recording and layering vocal harmonies. At times this creates a sound that is more compelling with less hooky melodies, which it seems might benefit more from constructing a song that dynamically goes somewhere. He works a great deal off minimalism and sparse arrangements. 

He picks up a guitar on "Riverbank" which adhere to that economic use of arrangements, the guitar leans in a blues-based direction, and allows the vocals to still be dominant. R & B stands for rhythm and blues, though it tends to have little blues and this fixes that, the lyrics have depth and are reflective.  "Life Behind Glass" coasts on a pretty cool mellow groove and seems to be what he does best. There is a more of a soulful ballad feel to "Truce" which finds him reaching up further into his head register to croon. It comes across like what a Prince B-side that did not make it album might sound like.  "Segre' also highlights what is the most effective use of his songwriting skills seems to be, as he excels at this chilled out electronic pop. 

When he ventures into other areas of slow jams it is met with mixed results. The old saying that you could listen to someone sing from the phone book, shows the fault in that analogy when the melodies are not given something concrete to sit against. His voice wanders in " Station" never finding some where stable enough to be a song and relying soley on his vocal prowess. The opening vocal effects to "Basis" remind me of Bon Iver. It solidifies into more of melody, but the piano line that accompanies it sits too far in the background. Things swell back into place, though the melodies never form. There is a sparse keyboard line that tries to hold the more substantial melody of the last song together. The chorus forms more easily here, but the overall feel of the song is less tangible and once again finds the fate of the song lying on the vocals. I will give this album an 8.5, as he is good at doing what he does and this mostly remains in attack as he flips the formula around.