Honest while keeping distance, warm though past the point of following dead end flames of past loves, Bill Godfrey is refreshing in his latest approach of being himself while telling his tales through song.
Hypnotized has the haunting charm of the wonderfully sketchy 1996 Dave Matthews. And the way this sing song melody of satanic angel allegiance to damaged goods hits like ice cold beer (or early morning hot cups of java) is a testament to Godfrey’s sublime ability to be an authentic songwriter in this day and age of artificial creation.
“The Kerrville Folk Festival was a big part of my early exposure to playing and singing. It’s a 3 week long camp out in which friends bring instruments and play music together. Only acoustic instruments are allowed. I learned a ton of songs and was exposed to artists like Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Blaze Foley, James Taylor, Carol King and John Prine.”
You can feel his brain changing throughout the second song, Sprightly Gentleman, and the solos that merge with the dribble dabble “didn’t take my meds” Americana make for a solid follow up to the track the album was named after. The drums also have a hip hop quality to them at points that works incredibly.
Wine. Flowers. Comfy couches. These are a trio of objectively good things. But for Bill? Naaaaaah. Those little comforts don’t have half the worth of what his sweetheart gives him. She is what makes home a perfect place on Perfect Place, and his Michael Buble revisionism with acoustic guitar live bar ambiance is a market he singlehandedly replicates here to perfection (squeaking E string and all).
This guy has so much potential it makes me excited to just talk about it. Three tracks in and all of them are good? That is hard to find. And while the fourth song completely changes the formula, with off kilter beat switch ups taking away from Bill’s raw simplicity, it is still an interesting song. Even when he strikes out, the count hits a 3 – 2 John Mayer post-Continuum mediation, and once that guitar solo comes on, I can’t say I’m not having a good time listening. The problem is that it took so long to get through the blandness that the beautiful shining anti-paranoia doesn’t hold much ground.
However, the song about rain afterwards? Patiently? That’s his bread and butter. An easy listen of complicated memories transported to us through jangled drums, cymbals, campfire choruses, and a certain quality of high art, low priced edibles with high potency, soulful calibration.
Listen ASAP. Really liked what I heard here. Let’s hope he keeps his building a sandcastle while it rains up above aesthetic on his next project. Definitely worth your time.
