I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business

Gold Rush

Written by: TL on 31/05/2011 00:56:41

Considering what bands have shaped me during my musical upbringing, it's probably some sort of reverse-miracle that I never got into The Early November, or for that matter, any of the other projects in which crafty New Jerseyan Arthur 'Ace' Enders has plied his trade. For over a decade now, Enders has contributed to the American emo/indie scene in either The Early November, the collaborative project Ace Enders And A Million Different People, or his more stripped down project I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business.

Under the Mess moniker, Enders has now reached his fifth LP with this year's "Gold Rush", and it is on this record I've had my first encounter with him. Based on the experience, I can say for certain however that it won't be my last, because - and here's where I give away the review - this record is nothing but classy and enjoyable from start to finish. The music is a minimalistic kind of indie/emo/pop that would be reminiscent of Dashboard Confessional or Cute Is What We Aim For, if it weren't for its complete lack of the former's melancholia and the latter's layers of irony. Instead it is just a chilled out collection of songs filled with stories and emotions that are naked without being blown out of proportion.

More importantly though, it's a chilled out collection of songs that are darn catchy, and enjoyable to no end, and it's the kind of album on which each song seems a display of the artist's deftness with the subtler workings of songwriting dynamics. For the sake of representation however, let's go ahead and name "Misery" and the opener "Gold Rush" as a pair of tracks that highlight how to do good things with little else than a guitar, a voice and some good melodies, and should you need more proof, look no further than "Complication" or "Don't Leave Me".

As is customary, I'll provide at least half a critical perspective towards the end of the review, by noticing that there isn't really all that much separating a record like "Gold Rush", from the likes of radio wave light-weights like Jason Mraz et al, except for the subtle presence of that elusive phenomenon that indie kids call 'authenticity'. When you have that, a good voice and a bundle of good songs though, you pretty much have to get in your own way if you are to make a less than solid album, and from the sound of "Gold Rush", Ace Enders isn't currently in the business of getting in his own way. And a solid grade it is then:

8

Download: Gold Rush, Misery, Complication, Don't Leave Me
For The Fans Of: Dashboard Confessional, Copeland, Death Cab For Cutie
Listen: icanmakeamess.bandcamp.com

Release Date 05.05.2011
**Self-released**

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