Driftwood Scarecrow aka Chris Greene is a twenty-year old artist from Virginia who recently released Beyond the Breakers. He started writing these songs when he was a sophomore in high school and finished when he was in college. Although those years for me seem like a lifetime ago one thing I do remember is how many changes start to develop as you slowly become an adult. His songs revolve around some of those changes or how he puts it - distance, loss, the passage of time and coming of age.
The songs are stripped back with his acoustic and vocals being the most integral parts of the music. Greene hits into a similar vibe as artists such as Sufjan Stevens and Conor Oberst. The songs are melancholy, nostalgic, intimate and reflective. The first song “The Herpetologist” in particular reminded me of Conor Oberst. It’s a simple song revolving around basic chords and I really enjoyed some of things that were going on in the background. Up next is “The Vermonter” which is a softly picked guitar and piano with gentle vocals. I really enjoyed this song which had a memorable melody. A certified highlight. “Maury Park” mixes a nice blend of melancholy and nostalgia. As the album progresses I thought the songwriting was impressive. The highlights to me were “Buffalo” which contains banjo and “At Last” which actually reminded me of a mix between ’60s folk singer Donovan, and Simon and Garfunkel. This is a complete DIY effort and I think he did a great job. I was actually a little surprised how professional it sounded and I encourage him to consider producing other artists as well. Greene is a young artist just getting started. The one piece of advice I have for him is to be careful about wearing his influences on his sleeve. As he continues to develop as a musician he should strive for his own signature sound which is something I believe usually comes a little more naturally as you get older and your influences aren't as strong. Overall, Greene is off to a great start. I’m looking forward to his future work.
3 Comments
Stacy
3/29/2018 03:05:50 pm
Chris Greene is my son! Thanks for reviewing his album. I love your positive comments and your words of advice.
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Tinus Nel
3/29/2018 04:07:16 pm
Thank you for an informative review, the contents of which I fully agree with. This is an album tjat deserves every enthusiastic paddle of the replay button.
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Jessie Capik
3/29/2018 05:03:11 pm
Wow, glad I stumbled across this album - totally blew me away!! Definitely agree with the intimate and reflective nature of the songs. Agh they're so quiet and beautiful - I think the lyric work is really strong
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