egg02cd: Soon Clyde: "Solace" (cdr) Displaying a wide array of influences ranging from Six Organs of Admittance to the Silver Jews, the music of Greg Pardew (aka Soon Clyde) seems to reside at a series of impossible crossroads. Recorded live and without overdubs, Greg uses his acoustic (and electric) guitars & voice to fully explore the conflicting moods that are carefully hidden from within the fabric of his delicate, yet quietly dissonant songs. Soon Clyde is Greg Pardew from Maryland, USA and this is his debut cdr album.
File under: experimental folk songwriting.
Reviews:
Foxy Digitalis: "Greg Pardew, the man behind the Soon Clyde appellation, is a purveyor of genteel, guitar-driven folk-pop. "Solace," his inaugural release, puts Pardew's many talents on display – elegant songcraft, clever guitar playing, and a truly mellifluous voice. At times traditional and at times slightly skewed, Soon Clyde's carefully wrought madrigals are predominantly lush and pleasing. His guitar literally drips honey from its strings, and is sometimes accompanied – not encumbered – by delicate touches of other instrumentation. Most of the seven tracks on "Solace" follow a relatively linear path, one key exception being the maniacal yet magical "Let's go to the Woods," which finds Pardew leading us on a mud-caked adventure into a forest that probably exists only in his mind.
Released on France's magical Cook an Egg label, "Solace" is indeed a comforting respite; the spirit-lifting atmosphere created by this Baltimore troubadour's warm melodies is sure to brighten the bleakest of moods. If you're depressed by what you read in the news, maybe a dose of "Solace" will be the perfect antidote." 8/10 Bryon Hayes (7 August, 2007)