Fresh Pair of Eyes
Artist: Brooke Waggoner 
http://www.brookewaggoner.com/ 
Label: Self/Downloads only
Tracks: 6 Tracks/26 min
 

WOW!

I have a new love (so to speak), Brooke Waggoner.  The EP in question, Fresh Pair of Eyes, is a free download from here site when you sign up for the newsletters.  Sign up ok.  Better still buy it.  You wont be disappointed.

Brook, a Louisiana native, began playing piano at the age of 4, was experimenting with melodies and music structure at nine, wrote her first song at ten and has completed a degree in Music Composition & Orchestration.  At twenty-three she released her first EP, _Fresh Pair of Eyes_.  And what an amazing release it is!  I cannot stop playing it, or recommending it to others.  With a mixture of influences from '60s’ early '70s’ folk (including, lyrically, Appalachian), types to Chopin, and with musical influences from other nations makes this a non-stop ride of aural pleasure.  Well produced, engineered, written and arranged I am still in shock that this is a self-released indie.

Not only is her music a pleasure to your ears, but her lyrics are also very mature, playful and challenging.  Take Wonder-Dummied that builds to the repeated refrain; 

I tried my best alone
Yes it got me nowhere
And I can’t do it on my own

Or from Fresh Pair of Eyes;
I want, I want to be seen
With a fresh pair of eyes
The single, the single white tree
In a black hood of disguise

I miss God, I miss God
I miss God, I miss God

Brook sings of love, vulnerability, and courage with a spiritual awareness of the God of the Bible.  She has a very tender, emotional voice that one blogger said of a recent live performance that “managed to sway the entire audience” (Brook has recently completed a tour with Copeland).  Add to this her excellent . . . piaoness??  Yes.  Her prowess at the piano is a masterful.  The best piano pop I have heard in a long time. Her myspace rant says that “Her intent was to study orchestration and hopefully one day have a career in scoring films, soundtracks and musicals.”  I think once you have heard Brookes stuff you, like me, will also be glad that she decided to pursue performance over composition.

Brook will take you on a piano Pop fun filled musical journey which I hope you will find as interesting and bright as I hope her future is.  Do yourself a favour and buy her EP, LP or both!  I doubt you will be disappointed.

Robert Boynton 

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