The Spend – Mild Peril

 

The Spend is a new discovery for me.  Flavors of Mark Kozelek and other acoustic troubadors abound here, yet a unique and satisfying art.  Worth exploring.

 

 Looping melodies, room sound, a little extra reverb, quiet/quiet/loud, etc. Mostly, songs about my brother and about returning to water.

 The Spend – Gills (Dry)

About Mild Peril: “The Spend’s music is largely acoustic, introspective and intimate, wistfully exploring common themes like lost love, dysfunctional families, growing old and death. While the songs are beautifully rendered, reverb-drenched atmospherics and the occasional rumblings of a distant electric guitar give the mix a darker, otherworldly feel.” – NPR All Songs Considered Second Stage

 The Spend – Gills (Wet)

“On his debut as The Spend, Mild Peril, Shaw control’s the music, runs the label, and even does the cover art…The resulting full-length album is a beautifully complex document of Shaw’s journey to independence and the understanding of who he is as a musician.” – The Deli Chicago

The Spend – Mild Peril

“Solo performers aren’t anything new. But solo performers who can make you forget that they’re performing, well, alone, is a whole ‘nother thing. Matt Shaw, the fellow behind The Spend, is one such local musician, whose largely acoustic songs are somehow at once spare and lush, and just varied enough to keep things interesting.” – Gapers Block

Read more reviews and see more art work @  http://www.myspace.com/thespendmusic

~ by castleqwayr on October 5, 2010.