Originally from Northwest Arkansas, William Pierce is now based out of Houston, Texas. His latest release is a self-titled mini-album William Pierce with lots of styles – ranging from Arkansas folk and jazz, to an almost ‘70s/‘80s synth sound backed against a rock ballad. The album was recorded in Arkansas at Pierce’s home, then mixed and mastered at his home in Houston – all DIY. Pierce states that the album is mostly about the time in a person's life where they fall to their lowest and are trying to find their way back out of their troubles – not necessarily finding happiness but learning to become content once again. It is also about the destructive behaviors that loom over a person when they are at their lowest point. He says the recording process “was a lot of fun and involved a lot of musicians in Fayetteville, Arkansas” from bands like Honey Collective, Makin Loaf, Foggy Bobcat and Austin Wilkins. Pierce would meet up with the other bands, teach them the music and they would “jam it out until they found a groove or niche that they enjoyed, and we would record it.”
Starting things off is “Little Touch” featuring singer Sarah Loethen. Her voice with Pierce’s, sounded so great! It’s as if the vocal pairing couldn’t get any better, in this “loves on fire” indie rock number. Some older classic rock influences that I could hear come from Springsteen, Jackson Browne and some of the classic female/male pairings that had big hits back in the ‘70s. Pierce’s guitar playing is top notch in my book, too. On “Lovely, Lonely” Pierce slows things down on the acoustic with a tender, jazzy style – complete with the warm bass sounds of the upright, a retro sounding guitar and muted trumpet. A perfect, lovely tune to slow dance to. “Dinner at the Doors” features a jumpy, indie rock rhythm and a few quick guitar solos between verses. The way Pierce wrote the melody and chord changes, with its “whoa baby” backup singing brings together classic pop songs from the ‘60s, with a little Lou Reed and more recently, Franz Ferdinand. A pretty unique mix overall. “Laser Beam Lady” begins with banjo, mandolin and bass – the classic bluegrass line up. This song has just a little waltz-like rhythm, but not in a traditional sense I’d say. The piano comes in later, along with some very interesting effects that sound like synths and a distorted accordion. Really hard to describe much more to this one, other than I really enjoyed it and it somehow reminded me of a Tom Waits song. Next is “Take a Breath” and it takes on a poppy, old school sound, Beatle-esque in some ways, but also the pop rock stylings of Neil Diamond. I don’t know, just a guess. “Hard Nights” has a jangly guitar rhythm with some groovy keyboard mini-solos. A lot of what’s in this song reminds me of pop bands from the ‘60s – like The Byrds, The Animals, Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, The Turtles – bands like that. Maybe you’ll hear them, too. The last track is “Running on Thin Ice” which features singing by Nathan Owens. Let me tell you listeners, if you have four minutes to spare, listen to this one. The melody is gorgeous, the words powerful, and the two guys singing together is something you don’t hear too often these days – at least the way that Pierce and Owens sing it. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed William Pierce’s debut – I would highly recommend it.
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