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Makers
Rocky Votolato
Reviewed by: Daniel Cwiekowski [Tue, December 13, 2005 @ 2:58:29 PM]
About two months ago I came across an email sent out to Rocky Votolato's mailing list saying that he had a brand new song up to check out on his page. I enjoyed his last album Suicide Medicine a lot but thought that it lacked depth in a few spots, so I wasn't setting the bar too high for his new record Makers. For some reason I never checked out that new song. So now here I am two months later completely astounded at how I managed to overlook an artist who has released what will undoubtedly end up one of the best records of 2006
Makers still has that same sound that Rocky Votolato coined so successfully with Suicide Medicine and Burning My Travels Clean. The main difference here is that with Makers we see a much more stripped down version of Votolato. A lot of the percussion from the last record is gone and replaced with songs that are mostly just Votolato, his guitar and a harmonica. With that stripped down sound you get a much more personal and in depth record, which Votolato executes masterfully.
The album kicks off with White Daisy Passing, one of the album’s gems with its poetic lyrics and hypnotizing guitar work. Another highlight comes a few songs later when we get to Uppers Aren't Necessary. If you're a fan of his last album, the guitar in this song will remind you a lot of Mix tapes/Cellmates, and as usual with the lyrics we find Rocky utilizing his songwriting skills that other artists would love to one day have. The main thing that I noticed with Makers is that unlike its predecessor you aren't waiting for any songs to come to an end. There is a lot more substance on this record and you see that in songs such as The Night's Disguise, Goldfield, and Where we Left Off. While 'Suicide Medicine' sort of stumbled a little bit towards the middle Votolato has delivered a much more consistent effort with Makers.
With his sophomore effort, Rocky proves that he is one of the most talented singer/songwriters out there now. This record clearly exceeded any expectations that I could've come up with. If you were a fan of Suicide Medicine, you will absolutely love this album. If you've never heard of Rocky Votolato imagine Jeff Buckley or Nick Drake in there prime. In a generation of song writers focusing on self pity over mature emotion Rocky stands out as a voice of poetic depth. The only reason we didn't give this a 10 is because we want to leave some room for Rocky’s next album.
9.5 Out of 10
RIYL: Iron and Wine, Nick Drake or Jeff Buckley
http://www.rockyvotolato.com
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