the naked circus - the naked circus

The Naked Circus

The Naked Circus
self-released; 2013

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

I don't know much about the project called The Naked Circus. I do know that it’s one guy who recorded this self-titled album The Naked Circus by himself in his parents’ basement. He has another project called Creepy Circus Mind and he is from Montreal, Canada. I’m not sure what type of setup he has in his basement but the recording sounds good. He packs in drums, bass, guitar, percussion and everything has it own space. He writes pop songs, has a good voice and has a knack for writing choruses that get stuck in your head.

The album opens with “This Nowhere,” which centers around his dynamic voice (too dynamic at times - a bit more automation or compression would have been nice) and a softly played piano. The song picks up such energy when the bass and the inventive drum work enter the mix. He puts down a piano and picks up an acoustic guitar on “Sooner or Later.” It is a decent song but some of the parts sounded off time. Now I don't mind it when it has a humanistic element and doesn't sound quantified but sometimes the parts sounded a bit sloppy. ”Childhood Memories” features a female vocalist that I wish would have been more prominent on the album. She creates a nice contrast with the male vocalist even if she was too low in the mix. ”Fix Me Up” was one of the sparest songs on the album but also one of the best. The singer found a good octave for his voice on this one and the melody isn't too shabby either. I really enjoyed the ending that showcased some nice vocal harmonies. He closes the album strongly with “Live Forever.”. It has some nice string work that kept me interested.

Whoever this guy is he has some talent. The songs are sometimes too sloppy for my liking but I was able to overlook this in some cases because of the decent songwriting.

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