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The Singing Mechanic | It Wouldn't Be What It Is

We wish they could all be singing mechanics.
CD, Sounds Familyre/Konkurrent

Tekst: Maurice Dielemans

Publicatiedatum: 21 januari 2002

There is yet another sky-high pile of demo tapes and self-released CDs on my desk this month, waiting to be reviewed, with The Singing Mechanic staring at me from the top of the pile. The Singing Mechanic is Vincent Vos, a real mechanic in daily life, who has been performing with Damien Jurado and Pedro The Lion before getting discovered by Daniel Smith from the Danielson Famile and ending up on top of my desk with his debut album. When listening to the sensitive vocals on 'It Wouldn't Be What It Is', one can't help thinking about the romantic folk-pop noir of Damien Jurado and Stuart Murdoch from Belle & Sebastian, but when it comes to comparing the music, The Singing Mechanic isn't like anything you've heard before. The mainly piano-driven compositions range from 18th century classic arrangements on the instrumental tracks 'Golden Opportunities' and 'March Into Heaven' to the drunken man's punk-folk of The Pogues on the lead track 'Dying To Be A Social'. The disc starts out weird, and it gets even freakier with every song. I have to say that 'East Coast/West Coast' reminds me of Gilbert O'Sullivan when you are stoned. Throughout the album you'll note that some of the jazzy pieces are reminiscent of Nick Drake. There also seem to be a couple of musical references to the American creepiness of The Carter Family and Sixties troubadours such as Phil Ochs, Donovan, and Leonard Cohen. Much of this is served with spiritual, almost God-fearing lyrics and gospel-like backing vocals. Still, despite all of the similarities with aforementioned artists, The Singing Mechanic sounds as if he comes from another planet, with his band of angels, bellringers, and backing singers. And it's true: What this world of angry, pissed-off rockers really needs is a singing mechanic. I wish they all could be singing mechanics.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/the-singing-mechanic/it-wouldn-t-be-what-it-is/1281/
Meer The Singing Mechanic op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/the-singing-mechanic