The new album from Nelson Kempf, the self-released Family Dollar, drops on Friday and it's the sort of thing that's likely going to take some time to generate the sort of attention it deserves. I reckon that I'm not going to be the only reviewer praising it, but it's going to take a few of us to get the word out that this is a beautiful record. It's also the sort of thing that heralds the arrival of a real talent.
"Sweetness and Strife" imagines a mix of Rufus Wainwright and David Sylvian, while "Hourglass" seems a pretty good approximation of some portions of the first Blue Nile record. Nelson is not Paul Buchanan, of course, but he's clearly more invested here in conjuring a mood than finding a big hook. Elsewhere, "Dream of Life" is more elegant and catchy, while the title cut mixes in bits of lite jazz with ambient, Eno-like effects to again conjur up a Sylvian-like vibe.
Family Dollar works very well as a mood piece. Nelson Kempf is to be praised for making this sort of record, even if the melodies don't all immediately reach out and grab the ears. I think that's an unfair criticism because, as I said, Kempf is lost in his own world here. In some ways, this is a record that's comparable to the early two releases from Eric Matthews, though Kempf is less severe in his arrangements, and more laid-back in his delivery.
Family Dollar by Nelson Kempf is out on Friday via the link below.
More details on Nelson Kempf via the official Facebook page.