Colin McGrath: Window Seat

By Keith Hannaleck

Colin McGrath’s Window Seat is a tender, introspective collection of beautifully written folk, acoustic and bluegrass songs. Through a perfect blend of piano, acoustic guitar, strings and vocal harmonies, McGrath creates intricately textured songs that are honest and contemplative. With a laid back and tender voice, McGrath sings his poetic and meditative lyrics in an authentic folk/acoustic singer/songwriter style—very similar to Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams.

Colin McGrath studied classical music at Oberlin College in Ohio, but was most influenced by the Irish, bluegrass, funk and improv bands that he played with throughout his travels in the United States and Europe. In addition to his solo career, he plays with his bluegrass band Speedtrack. Most recently he has received commissions to write chamber pieces for The Central Park Brass, The New York Philharmonic TA Ensemble and The Bloomingdale School of Music.

Produced by William Berlind, Window Seat starts off with “Ruthy,” a song with a Bob Dylan/Jeff Tweedy feel made up of an acoustic guitar, poetic lyrics and a country fiddle. Other songs that keep in tune with this authentic folk/bluegrass appeal are “Squirrels,” “Talk to Me,” and “Home.” “Home” is one example of McGrath’s strong ability to write truly brilliant bridges. He starts off with a simple emotion and builds it up through the song; the climax comes in the bridge and this emotion is resolved through the end of the song. Another theme that runs throughout the album is that while many of these songs have a “feel-good” acoustic sound, there is an underlying sense of sadness and contemplation that gives this album its deep-layered appeal.  One of the songs that best exemplifies this dual-nature is “Anochece.” “Anochece,” which in Spanish means, “it grows dark” is a dreamy, delicate song with birds chirping in the background, powerful strings and guitar, and a heartbreaking fiddle solo. This is a song that has a very pretty acoustic sound, but deeper down has a dark and sad layer.

While the majority of McGrath’s songs are routed in folk and bluegrass, some diverge a bit from this sound, such as “Almost Perfect.” This song brings in a beautiful piano and strings section to create one of the most well-written and textured songs on the album. “Breathe” is also one of the album’s best songs with a very emotional and dreamy quality brought forth by acoustic guitar, piano and strings. “Old Familiar” is an upbeat song with great female vocal harmonies and a rhythm and blues feel on the piano and guitar.

The last song on the album, “Fool For A Pretty Thing” has a very different feel than the rest of the album. With lounge piano and jazz percussion as the dominant instruments, the music becomes a slow-tempo, lounge/cool jazz song. While some may find this off-putting, I think that it worked, mainly due to the fact that it shows McGrath’s brilliant song-writing ability, regardless of genre.  All in all this was a very well- written, introspective album by an extremely promising singer/songwriter.

Reviewed - March 13, 2008

Tracks:

01. Ruthy
02. Grin Like That
03. Almost Perfect
04. Old Familiar
05. Anochece
06. Squirrels
07. Guests
08. Breathe
09. Talk to Me
10. Taking Their Own Sweet Time
11. Home
12. Fool For A Pretty Thing

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck - http://www.muzikreviews.com.