Demos

Peter Matthew Kasen - Veer

Owain Paciuszko 22/05/2009

Rating: 2/5

Acousticy singer-songwriteryness from American Peter Matthew Kasen has a touch of the Bill Callahans about it, though his voice is far less immediate than that. Whislt Black Ink has a scrappier, angstier bent to its strumming. Kasen can put together a fine folk-song that one can easily imagine echoing out over the heads of an attentive folk-festival crowd.

Friendly Foe is an atmospheric instrumental that frustrates because it's short and seemed fit to easily evolve into another moody song. Then all that's left is Hindsight which finds Kasen on fine bitter form singing 'Nothing is fact without fiction' and ruminating on things taken for granted. He's a fine guitarist and lyricist, but there's a bit of a wall seperating the listener from the soul of his songs - which may be a production issue - but it stops the songs really connecting here and this last track, just as it gets going, fades out! Which is one of my musical pet hates, and even more of a shame here as this last track was gearing up to be the strongest. In a way, as a listener, you almost feel cheated as if this is a lure for a longer track yet to be unveiled.

Perhaps this EP is supposed to be a teaser trailer to a full album, but instead it just feels half thought through. The seeds planted may well one day grow, but here they're mis-shapen, stunted saplings.