Holy cow, this is good! Mighty fine songwriting. And the arrangement, composition, and recording is brilliant. As you know, or should know, I have a penchant for independent music. This is indie AF. But is doesn’t sound home made at all. The sound, mix, and production is professional studio caliber. The transitions from vocals to solos or from lead vocals to harmonies are perfect.(more…)
The jongleur of Jacksonville is at it again, releasing his first new album in five years. Peak is a misnomer because Roy is still on the rise. A five year gap is understandable between albums since Roy has a lot of balls in the air (writing, producing, putting on shows, etc.). How’s that for tying in the juggler motif? Alright let’s back to the topic at hand, the sound waves. Roy makes some killer waves, ten waves to be exact. Some of the waves are rather compact and tightly contained while others are very grand and powerful. Be careful or some of these “waves” will swallow you up whole.
This time, I will begin at the beginning. Sylvia Sylvia (Track 1) is Roy’s first offering on this collection and it is a beautiful tune with luxurious acoustic guitar parts that really ground this song and allow Roy and the other musicians to explore a bit. But they always come back to the foundation. The song is quite complex, the fills are fairly intricate, but not too fancy as to over power the other elements. Balance is the key here.
Roy’s voice is very interesting and quite pleasing to listen to. He doesn’t have the vocal range of some, but he makes up for that with his fine writing and musical prowess. The Radioactive Kid (Track 3) perfectly exemplifies this. Just take a listen to those pedal steel riffs. Heaven, here I come. Roy’s voice is the perfect voice for this music, much like Neil Young. I absolutely adore the spacey, country vibe that makes me feel like I am somewhere else. Somewhere a million miles away. Thank goodness this song is only five minutes long or I may have drifted into the abyss.
Time to put your money where your mouth is. I know you all say you support independent music. Prove it. Roy Peak is as “indie” and “DIY” as humanly possible. And besides that, An Ever Darkening Sky is a damn good album. I can say with pride that I have added the album to my best playlist and eagerly await listening ASAP.
In the two, almost three, years I have been doing TwangriLa, this is the third Baltimore band that I have reviewed. I hope that Overgrown by Haint Blue is a precursor of things to come. I would love nothing more than to review more local bands that are in the Americana space. Unfortunately, Baltimore doesn’t seem like the town that supports those types of acts. Until now. I do believe that this release will be a turning point for the Baltimore Americana music scene. And Haint Blue have appeared on Tiny Desk Concert. That’s street cred.
