Keegan DeWitt : "Nothing Shows" CD EP Review (Daytrotter/Record Barn) ~ BrooklynRocks: NYC Music Blog

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Keegan DeWitt : "Nothing Shows" CD EP Review (Daytrotter/Record Barn)

DOWNLOAD: Keegan DeWitt - "Say La La"
DOWNLOAD: Keegan DeWitt - Daytrotter Session, July 13, 2010

Keegan DeWitt : Nashville-based film composer & indie singer/songwriter Keegan DeWitt just released a new seven-track EP, Nothing Shows, via Daytrotter's Record Barn imprint. Five of the tracks on this new disc fall into the genre of orchestral pop and the remaining two are essentially 80's-style BritPop.

Each track on Nothing Shows provides the listener with a short glimpse into a particular time, place, and feeling. For 30 days in the early fall and winter of last year, Keegan crossed the Atlantic and holed up in a Parisian flat to finish work on Nothing Shows (the title originating from the collected works of poet Philip Larkin). It was there that he’d meld the tender craftsmanship of his New York Times-heralded film scores together with the resonant lyricism found on the diverse Islands. And what emerged are seven songs steeped in specific moments, locations, and emotions.

The majority of the seven tracks are built around Keegan's winsome vocals and the layered production brings in backing harmonies, strings, piano and other instruments to complement the vocals. The lyrical themes center around love, desire, yearning and frustrating. "Tired of Love" highlights the conflicting emotions within this introspection with the couplet "I'm tired of love, I'm tied to love". One of the standout tracks is "Michel Bizot" where Keegan sings a duet with Madi Diaz.



The two cuts that fall outside of the orchestral pop genre are "Say La La" and "Hearts Beat Loud" and both are swirling dance-pop tunes with an infectious beat. "Say La La" has a memorable keyboard riff that repeats throughout the song and is reminiscent of some of the thinking-man's pop that came out of Britain in the 80's. "Hearts Beat Loud" is equally danceable - here is the video:



Links:
Keegan DeWitt