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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Trespass
491
Artist: Ashley Peacock Label: Dream Thief Records Length: 13 tracks (4 hidden) Trespass 491 from Ashley Peacock is a bit hard to classify, at least in terms of musical genre. With one foot firmly rooted in the singer/songwriter/folk mode, Peacock also throws in an assortment of strings, as well as other instruments and sounds. It's hard to compare him to other artists, but I imagine this Michigan-based denizen of the coffee-house scene will appeal mostly to fans of the music of folks like Robert Deeble, Mark Heard, and Richard Swift, as well as the solo work of former Over the Rhine-er Ric Hordinski (in fact, Hordinski even produces one of the tunes). Peacock is the consummate realist. He'll be the first one to tell you that he'll never be famous, and he even set up his own record label to release his music, and even uses his own web site to rail against the state of the music and record industry. The disc is filled with intelligent and oft-melancholy lyrics. Guitars are at the backbone of the sound, while Peacock's unique voice wanders seamlessly up and down the vocal register with little effort. In "The Boy With His Mother's Last Name," he tells the tale of a reluctant prophet who must deal with the loneliness that comes with that calling: I want to be wrong.This is followed by "No Parking" which examines how one deals with a strained familial relationship as well as forgiveness. In fact, forgiveness and its limits (or lack thereof), is a common theme, hence the title, Trespass 491, a reference to Jesus' admonition on forgiveness (70 x 7, you do the math). "Giving the Ghost (Finola's Lullaby)" presents a nice mixture of guitar, flute, and strings, all topped off by Peacock's pleasant yet gut-wrenching vocals. Two other songs take advantage of his coffeehouse approach, as they are actual live recordings from a coffeehouse performance. After the nine songs listed on the cd, there are an additional four tracks, the first of which appears to be an a cappella rendering of a song recorded live in an empty YMCA gymnasium. Another is a beautiful instrumental string arrangement, while yet another is a soulful a cappella version of "O Holy Night." Peacock has given us a pleasant recording, made all the more pleasant by its DIY status. If there is any fault to be found, one might be able to make the case that there is a bit of pretension here and that Peacock takes himself too seriously. Maybe. But I don't think so. Ken Mueller 6/15/2001
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