Reviewsic [ri-vyoo-zik] -noun: Music worth talking about

Light, melodic, and soothing are adjectives that might be thrown the way of New Jersey musician Dan Wythoff. The nineteen-year old singer/songwriter hails from Mount Laurel, where he plays live accompanied by 3 other musicians. However, the floaty-full band sound of his 2008 debut recording, Now Departing was created by Dan and producer Paul Sipio.

The eleven-track album is an example of deep reflection and alternating perspectives, an impressive compilation for someone just beyond legal adulthood. Wythoff comes across as honest and pure in his singing, with a voice that can best be described as the traditional one of pop-punk, but glazed over with the softer styling of artists such as Ben Gibbard [Death Cab for Cutie] and Bryce Avary [The Rocket Summer]. That accompanied with the soft strum of his guitar and airy sounding cymbals create a sound that is fresh, clear, and comfortable to listen to. The assistance of a variety of instruments, including violin, acoustic guitar, and bells add to the sweet, ambient sound that is this album.

That’s not to say that every track on Now Departing is slow, but none of these tracks are anywhere near abrasive. “To Say the Least” includes some jazzy instrumentals, while songs like “Time Spent” and “Visuals” have a little more kick, but never stray from the warm feeling this album offers.
The simplest way to explain Wythoff’s songwriting is absolutely poetic. There is obvious thought put into each of these songs, something utterly commendable in a world of half hearted writing and love songs riddled with cliché phrases. Whether he is writing about loss and a funeral [Love in their eyes- “The streets were lined with the shoes of mourners and their cries and in pictures she smiled to say goodbye in thousands of words”], the course of life and growing old [ Time Spent- “The lines will multiply on your skin as you spend time watching everything change. One day you’ll say goodbye. One day your eyes will close and you’ll wake up next to those you love so very much”], or the precious concept of home [Talking Walls- “If talking walls exist, then I would like to know so that I could show my gratitude and thanks for holding us so close for all of these years and even though I’ll leave, home is where my heart will be.”] Wythoff takes each thought, each experience and spins it in way that is entirely relatable and elegantly presented.

Citing such influences as Owen, Sufjan Stevens, and Damien Rice, its no wonder that this young musician has debuted with such a successful set of songs. It can be expected that Wythoff will continue to impress, and hoped that he will deliver us with even more impressive songs.

Get Dan Wythoff on iTunes

myspace.com/danwythoff

Northern California native Ryan Lafferty is a musician of multiple talents, playing guitar as well as bass and drums, not to mention his vocal skills. Having been immersed in music as a child, Lafferty began playing shows at the tender age of 18, moving on to attend Santa Clara University where he became a musical regular at campus shows. Lafferty plays in a band called Montana 1948 [myspace.com/mt1948], but his heart lies in what he does on his own: playing folk

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Lafferty’s voice is one of obvious strength, playing out with a solid sounding clarity, even in the roughest of recordings. Currently in the process of putting together newly written material and recording, Lafferty does offer a few songs for sampling on his myspace [myspace.com/ryanlaffertymusic]. One of which is a Johnny Cash cover, completely well suited for Lafferty’s style, which is one of oaky, smooth and traditional folk. His original songs offer a calm and melodic sound, complete with twangy slides and soft percussion.
Lyrically Lafferty is a hit and miss with us. Songs of heartbreak and aching are just fine, but need to be handled with great care to be taken seriously. In some songs his phrases and lines come off as trite, just a little overdone in the achey breaky heart context [My pen it drips my sorrows/Blacken the roses with ink again- Lives in Disguise] but what those few slip ups take away from his songs is compensated by his stronger lyrics, such as: When you think of me tell me please, what comes to your mind?/A sharp dressed man with a guitar that treated you too kind./I know that I am the man that you’ve always wanted/But I don’t know if I’ll be there when you finally want him, in his song ‘Show Them’. A musician of very apparent skill, and a writer who shows promise, Lafferty is also an artist with integrity- he turned down an offer from Upscale Records because, in his words, “their label wasn’t the best fit for me.” We give him kudos for holding out for a contract that works for him and not the other way around. Be sure to look out for a release from Ryan Lafferty, and listen at: myspace.com/ryanlaffertymusic