Post Description

Folk, alternative, rock folk, indie.

Alex Nicol is a Montreal singer formerly of the band Hoan who releases his latest album ‘Been A Long Year Vol.1 & Vol.2’ this month. The singer has had his troubles with the loss of friends and family, and also losing his job.

He began to realise that he’d spent his adult life avoiding difficult emotions like the ones he was being overpowered by and a lifetime’s worth of unacknowledged feelings began coming to the surface and everything in his world began to change.

We are introduced to the first section or volume one with `Eye For An Eye` a gentle protest song that the artist has shared “that questions the merits of playing one’s part in society when a society is built on structural inequalities, false narratives, and false promises for changes that never come”. A dreamy slow burn number with some haunting lap steel and a tender drumbeat. We enjoy a further illusory offering in `Fabricated Hedonist` will vocals that have an almost fragile texture.

`Sit Around And Wait` is a mid-tempo thoughtful fairly captivating number that evokes a feeling of the calm before the storm. There`s a sense of introspection on `Hollywood` which relates to unrealised ambitions and desires and uses the film industry location as a kind of metaphor for these unsated aspirations.

Angel Deradoorian adds vocals to title-track `Been A Long Year` which closes out Vol 1. A deeply absorbing track with a string arrangement and lyrics that conjure the imagery of a ghost town that mirrors Nicol’s reality.

Vol 2 opens with `Working On My Tan` a song that looks at how difficult it can be to disconnect from everyday pressures and instead seek solace from the natural world. A rich and deeply powerful composition that has an evocative pedal steel, strummed guitar, tapped drum and occasional resonating guitar chords. I read that `Simple Fires` was originally written about the figurative, metaphorical ways in which the world was burning, but took on greater gravity as ecological destruction and corporate greed literally set the world on fire. Wildfires in Canada affected all thirteen provinces and territories and impacted air quality as far away as Europe and China. A considerate and moving contemplation.

`Colour My World` is another brooding musing with aching vocals and lingering guitar chords. There`s a faster pace to `Simmer` which does have a kind of seething almost smouldering texture about it.

Volume two and the album itself concludes with `Song For Franz` a song dedicated to Alex`s late uncle, that ultimately reflects a wider issue of how men are socialised to deny their emotions. An engaging listen with lyrics that stay with you long after the number concludes.

‘Been A Long Year Vol.1 & Vol.2’ was my introduction to Alex Nichol and I have to say it`s a pretty powerful initiation to an artist who possesses such a rich, varied, and evocative vocal range. The lyrical content alongside the music arouses a sense of vulnerability at times but with an underlying perception of strength.

An album that i`m sure I’ll return to many times and discover something new on every occasion.  

Tracks Vol 1:
01 - Eye For An Eye
02 - Fabricated Hedonist
03 - Sit Around And Wait
04 - Hollywood
05 - Been A Long Year

Tracks Vol 2:
01. Working On My Tan
02. Colour My World
03. Simple Fires
04. Simmer
05. Song For Franz

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.

Vol. 1 compleet:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hGcMaT1UE0