The Not-Pop Jukebox

I received a request to review Will Dailey’s newest efforts, “Torrent Volumes 1 and 2”, a part of a larger project that will include his releasing a few songs every three months as a sort of long album. While I was interested in the gimmick, I wouldn’t mention it if I didn’t like the music.

I liked Mr. Dailey from the first song, Down the Drain, and enjoyed all thirteen songs, to varying degrees. More importantly, they stand up to repeated listens, as I can attest after having them shuffle through several times today. The music is sparse, the lyrics catch your attention without being cute, and Will Dailey’s voice ties suits both beautifully. He’s got a little country twang from time to time but the occasional hand claps and flare of horns combine with the non-standard clichés to keep him from being pigeonholed.

Most of the songs on “Fashion of Distraction” and “By the Blue Hills”, the actual names of the first two releases respectively, portray a man contemplating love and its complications, and are successful in having a hook to keep you interested without trying too hard. My favorites thus far are the afore-mentioned Down the Drain, Tomorrow Still Comes, and Too Long. You can listen to four of the songs off the album at his web site and more on his MySpace page. The album was officially released today. I have to say, it's requests like this that make me love being a music blogger, as I doubt I'd have heard of Will Dailey otherwise.