Saosin

Anthony Green is the fantastic voice behind bands like Saosin and Circa Survive, and his first solo album is for the most part a departure from the grandiose sound and dense arrangements of those bands, in favor of a more stripped-down sound.  The angular melodies and distinctive vocal delivery remain firmly in place, though, so despair not!

It almost seems like after Avalon Anthony Green isn't expecting to release any more solo material; not only are you buying the album Avalon, you also get the 4-song High & Driving EP and 5 demos.  I was planning on buying it anyway when I braved my local Hot Topic, but getting 9 more songs than I was expecting?  Awesome!  Several are just alternate versions of songs from the album itself, but as a free bonus it's a nice touch.

The record starts with the downright cheerful sounding "She Loves Me So," a beautiful pop song.  The next song is the first single, "Dear Child (I've Been Trying to Reach You)," and feels like a slightly bare-bones Circa Survive song, with a chorus that sounds straight off of Juturna (side note: many of the songs and song titles on that album were inspired by Green's love for the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind").

Anthony brings the musical intricacies heard on Circa Survive albums to a mostly acoustic album with remarkable success.  These are fairly simple songs, but with a tremendous density; each song has layers and layers, and on repeat listens you'll discover beautiful subdued guitars in the back or subtle backing vocals that make good songs better.  Even the instrumental track "Springtime Out the Van Window" is compelling, though I don't really care for instrumental songs as a general rule.

"Slowing Down (Long Time Coming)" is short and sweet, and one of my favorites.  I love the harmonica and poppy feel.

Avalon is so much more than an acoustic record; the instruments my be subdued, but Green's voice comes on at full force, and so does the story of love, loss, and addiction it tells.  Definitely worth picking up, even if you have no interest in anything else Anthony Green has done.

[mp3] Dear Child (Good Old War Version)
[mp3] Slowing Down (Demo)

Buy it! iTunes | Amazon
See the sites: Official | Myspace

Do you realize that you apologize/ When it's not your fault?