I am a very happy person. I love upbeat music, high energy riffs, and rock songs that make you dance. That being said, I also like to listen to sad music occasionally, because there is something about it that feeds my soul. For this reason, Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Fight and Wild Sweet Orange’s We Have Cause to Be Uneasy snagged the slots of number one and two albums of 2008, respectively.
I think I’ve found my sad album of 2009. Leonard Mynx, a man armed with an ostensibly dreary history and a guitar, has crafted a beautiful album filled with folksy renditions of compelling stories. Vesper stands out among others of its kind because of its raw honesty. Mynx bears his soul and his deepest wounds here, singing about everything from the melancholy tale of a woman called Mary to a brother called Robert lost to the war.
Most striking was “Horse”, which starts out with the line “I don’t care about girls cause I’ve got heroin”. Completely unexpected, the song quickly became a favourite of the bunch. My only criticism is that Leonard felt compelled to do as most singer/songwriters do and include female harmony vocals on “Northwest Passage” and “You Asked”, which, as you can probably guess, I didn’t like.
The album has a timeless quality that might make you forget everything outside the realms of your headphones. It is not an instant charmer, it took me a few listens to begin to really enjoy it, but the same thing happened with Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Fight. First impressions are often wrong with this kind of music, so give the following songs a listen and get the album if it strikes your fancy. As for me? I’ll be listening to it whenever I need a bit of sadness to put things into perspective.
3.5/5
Leonard Mynx – Horse [mp3]
Leonard Mynx – The Wine [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]
for fans of Iron & Wine, Liam Finn, Frightened Rabbit
visit Leonard on MYSPACE and buy his album HERE
tour dates:
Apr 12 Cameo Gallery Brooklyn
Apr 14 Derby City Espresso Louisville, Kentucky
Apr 15 The Basement Nashville, Tennessee
Apr 22 cafe semolino hays, Kansas
Apr 23 Mercury Lounge Denver, Colorado
Apr 29 empyrean spokane, Washington
May 2 nuart theater moscow, Idaho
May 7 DOUG FIR Portland, Oregon
May 24 Mississippi Studios Portland, Oregon
Jun 6 roadside attraction portland, Oregon
Jun 11 Laughing Goat Boulder, Colorado
Jun 20 Meadowlark Denver, Colorado
Jul 23 Red Hare Astoria, Oregon
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