REVIEW: Greg Garing, Alone (Revolution)
- Lee Graham Bridges
To say, as the press release does, that Greg Garing's new album Alone represents a mixture of country-western rock and techno comparable to a melding of "Orbison with Orbital" would be grossly inaccurate. Garing is a country boy at heart, and his music follows suit: part bluesy rock, part country-western, and a pinch of modern beats and an occasional technoism, a drone in the background or a beep or whistle or click. The end result is not a blend of country and techno elements (such as certain moments on The KLF's Chill Out ), but rather a modern rendition of certain traditional music.
Among the album's real strengths is the exposition of Garing's ability to create solid music. Each song is efficiently crafted and well packaged. "Safe Within Your Arms" starts up fairly plainly, then moves into a cute, mellow instrumental. "Dream Too Real To Hold", between its oddly dark calliope sounds, ambient drones, and Garing's vocals' uncanny likeness to that of Tim Booth of James, sounds like it could be an outtake from the Tim Booth/Angelo Badalamenti collaboration Booth and the Bad Angel .
On the flipside, Garing's vocals can often sound whiny and strained instead of strong and moving. The lyrics are not too outstanding either; themes of lost love, found love, and the like abound.
Alone is a solid performance on Greg Garing's part, but despite his skills, the listener is still left wondering what exactly Garing was striving to create.
