Greetings dearest gentle readers and music lovers. Today we welcome the band Nothing Concrete to our blog. Fergus McKay and Gaia Miato founded the ensemble, which has artists from all over the world, resulting in a rich and eclectic musical blend. Their distinct sound combines afrobeat, blues, and tango into a single audio experience. This multicultural band founded in Scotland and now headquartered in Foix, France, has announced the imminent release of their fourth studio album, “The Imperfectionist”. The ten-song album was released on 27th June. Let’s take a closer look at this album
The first track is called “The Boat”. The song opens with a very exotic sound, unlike anything I’ve ever heard. The song talks about how humans are powerful and are capable of doing. It talks about democracy and starting a revolution, and standing in our power (”on the wild wild sea, we are the boats”). The song contains a bit of every genre, all melted into one pot which is this song. The flute solo was breathtaking and this beautiful song opens the album
Up next is “Broken Bird”. The song opens with beautiful horn instruments. The song talks about a character who seems tough on the outside but on the inside, away from view, this character is broken and needs help(”do not forget me”). It is very hard to accept help when you have your walls up. This song reminds us that, it is okay to be broken, it’s okay to be seen and ask for help before we get broken beyond repair. It is hard to pinpoint the genre of music because, in the beginning, it sounded reggae and a little Afrobeat, and then it sounds like jazz at a certain point too. Whatever genre this chameleon song is, the vocal performance was stunning and the instrumentation was amazing
“Cometh the hour” is the next song on the album. This song also opens with an upbeat horn and drum beat. The song talks about how no matter what happens, there comes a time; when we will get a visionary or a person who will bring good ideas to life(”” fresh manifesto”). The highlight of the song was the trumpet sounds and the vocal performance.
The next song is called “Empty Whisky Bottle Mariachi Blues”. The song opens like a mariachi song. The song illustrates a character whose heart has been broken. He feels dejected and lets her know what this breakup will leave him. He lets us the audience know that he gave his heart to her and will no longer have a heart and because she made him the man he is now, he will no longer have any reason to live(” I’ll have no reason left to live”). The vocal performance may be a little upbeat but, the lyrics let us know that he is actually sad. The vocal performance was beautiful and the mouth performance was amazing
“He didn’t do much of that now” is the next song on the album. This song opens with a groovy intro. The song is about a persona who is talking about his glory days. He then says that he doesn’t do or have any of the amazing things he did or had (”I used to drive a brand new car”). The instrumentation is groovy and the vocal performance and the background singers really popped and so did the harmonica, the sax solo, and the Tap dancing
The next song is the album’s namesake “The imperfectionist”. The song opens with a Latin and tango-like song. The song talks about two things. It reminds us that, no one is perfect and no one can ever be perfect so, it’s best to set it aside and focus on what we can do well(”you can throw perfectionism to the devil”). And secondly, it tells us that the character who is in the song also seems to find another imperfectionist like him and he is very attracted to her This song really did make me want to tango and the. The sax solo was so beautiful and the scatting was so smooth. This song was so breathtaking and a standout song
“John Henry Lee” is the song that follows on the album. The song opens with the sound of patterning rain and a soft scattering sound. The song is about a poorly departed man called John Henry Lee. Through the song, we find out that Mr. Lee had a lot of skeletons in his closet and had three wives. Apparently, Mr Lee had a dying wish and had regretted all the sins he committed but, it was too late. This song is not just about Mr Lee’s life, it is about how death will come for us all and serves as a cautionary tale to us, to live a good life so that, when death comes for us, we will have little or no regrets. The violin solo was so stunning and elegant and it complements the vocal performance and the song itself
The eighth song on the album is called “No Force”. This song opens with nice horned instruments. The song is about a persona who despite all odds, (” you’ve given your all but it’s not enough”) buckles down and lets everyone know that they can throw whatever they want his way, he will not back down and there is no force that will stop him. The song is very fast-paced and very enjoyable
“S.O.S (Save Our Souls)” is the second-to-last song on the album. This song opens with a very beautiful melody that will captivate you. The song talks about a character who is drowning and needs help. The song was foot-tapping and the melody was very exotic and exciting to listen to
The last song on the album is called “The Western”. The intro of the song is the melody you hear when you are watching a western movie, you hear when it’s time for the showdown gun fight, it includes the whistle, and everything. The whistle is then fused with an upbeat melody. The song talks about a character who went looking for a criminal called “Texas Red”. This song was very groovy and foot-tapping. The album opened with a bang and ended with a bang
This album made me speechless. Literally, I have no word good enough to qualify this masterpiece with. The genres were changing throughout the album. Every song had a little bit of every genre and their messages were profound and heartwarming. Many thanks to the band for this legendary album and I can’t wait to hear more music from them
Stream “The ImPerfectionist” album on Spotify
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