Residing in both Chicago and Nashville, the rapidly rising Andrew Belle has begun to find his place among the playlists of all cardinal directions for his sounds perfect marriage of southern twang and pop influences. Debuting with the EP All Those Pretty Lights in 2008, Belle’s earnest and melodic crooning caught the attention of networks across the board, and since it’s release multiple tracks from the EP have appeared on such shows as One Tree Hill, 90210, Keeping up with the Kardashians, Real World, and Ghost Whisperer. Keeping with that same vein of television popularity, Belle was also named MTV’s ‘Chicago Break Out Artist’ in the 09’ VMA season.
More recently Belle’s first full-length, The Ladder, was completed, making it’s debut just this past Tuesday. Ten songs and entirely infectious, The Ladder is an album well suited for someone on the cusp of their mid-twenties like Belle, delivering tales of soul-searching by way of love, redefining friendships, and experiencing self-doubt. Though we feel he has been rightly compared to such musicians as Coldplay’s Chris Martin and John Mayer, we also think it’s unfair to just leave it at that. Belle’s voice is one of those rarities that both fits into the stream of what is already working in the music world, and stands on its own. With the same smoky and crackling qualities of a campfire, Belle’s vocals come across as organic and understated in every track - there’s no gimmick or apparent tweaking in these songs, just simple, honest music.
With such radio ready songs as “The Ladder”, “Tower”, and “Static Waves” (featuring Katie Herzig), it’s no wonder that Andrew Belle is an artist already found on such stations as Chicago’s WXRT as well as other major city stations like WRLT Nashville, KCRW Los Angeles, and WXPN Philadelphia. Poppy yet twangy, Belle reminds us of another up and comer we have featured on Reviewsic- Floridia native Matt Hires. Both these twenty-something’s play their pop in a southernly sincere manner that is impossible not to be charmed by.
Not all of The Ladder is derived from Andrew’s Chicago-Nashville environment however. Tracks like “Add It Up” stray from the country vibe carved out earlier in the album and deliver straight indie-folk pop with string accompaniment and production effects that remind of us Midlake’s The Trials of Van Occupanther. Along those same lines comes “Reach”, which does stick with the southern sensibility Belle has learned to harness so well, but is more lyrically simplistic than his other tracks, allowing the actual music and melody to take command. We’re big fans of hearing this quick track’s conflicting tempos play cat and mouse until they begin to meld via Belle’s beautifully formed vocal pattern.
The Ladder has captured the feeling of heartache without coming across as angst-y, giving off a mature understanding of how sometimes these things just don’t work. From lines like, “Don’t blame yourself cause I know that you’ll try/ but you need someone to be someone better than me in your life” in the aptly titled, “Don’t Blame Yourself” to the chorus of “Make it without You” where Belle sings out, “oh I’ll make it without you and though my bodies laying here/
it’s my mouth that must be lying now” Andrew’s simple stated lyrics give us an honesty that is relatable and open to interpretation- one the keys to making a successful song.
Playing on that same simplicity is “Open Your Eyes”, in which not only we did enjoy such sincere lines as “it’s time to see/if you still believe in me/open your life now/ I’ll try to be all that you need me to be” but we also found a compositional similarity to Death Cab For Cutie in it’s metered crescendo and rephrased repetitions.
Our only qualm with the singer/songwriter is his lack of enunciation in some tracks, which causes the words to get lost in a sort of muddled rasp. None-the-less, as far as our complaints go Belle is pretty free on that front, and for most tracks not being able to decipher every consonant really is beside the point when there’s so much going on in the way of melody and accompanying instruments.
All in all The Ladder is without a doubt a wonderful addition to the world of folk-pop, helping create the bridge between the previously separate camps of truly popular music and down home folk. Belle has once again created a set of songs that are both catchy and purposeful, playing a synthesized stones throw away from Andrew Bird ala Armchair Apocrypha, which should be enough to peak the curiosity of those who have not already taken a moment to explore what this talented young musician has to offer.
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Check out Andrew in a more intimate setting as the singer/songwriter does what he does best in the back of the tour bus during his participation in the Ten out of Tenn tour.
