eddie tea - this wilderness

Eddie Tea

This Wilderness
self-released; 2014

3.5 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Eddie Tea works fast. Last year in May he released two full-lengths and at the beginning of this year he released another eleven-song album called This Wilderness. Eddie Tea continues to rely on simplicity by implementing just his guitar and vocals to carry the songs. His focus this time around is the history and nature of post-industrial South Wales, as well as memory, dream, escape and the creative process itself. As with his previous titles, Eddie Tea utilizes a lo-fi aesthetic that often works with the sparse recording.

In all honesty there isn't too much you need to know about these songs because of their stripped down nature. Eddie Tea is a skillful songwriter who has an attractive voice and excels as a lyricist. His guitar isn't too fancy but does not need to be for the types of songs he is playing.

The album starts out with “stars,” which is one of the catchiest songs on the album. Eddie Tea sings “in my mind in my mind it's all in my mind the stars… up there blue and white up there in the sky shiver in blue light going blind is white.” The vocal melody is infectious as it dances around a rustic, lo-fi sounding acoustic guitar. “embodied” contains serene, tranquil guitar melodies that prove to be some of the best amongst the album while “white seal lullaby” either had a guest vocalist or Eddie Tea knows how to contort his voice so it sounds different. The highlight of the album for me was the title track not only because of the orchestral strings he implements but the vigor and hopeful way he sings. It is the most emotionally resonant song on the album as he sings “and after all the running after all the fun when you come home there's something you haven't yet begun you wish you could you've missed what should it's not your fault so don't feel lost”.

Eddie Tea works fast but also seems to be improving as well as expanding his palette. I’m looking forward to what else Tea will come up with in the future.

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