Gregory Douglass - Lucid

Gregory Douglass - Lucid
2011, Emote Records

Gregory Douglass defines the modern concept of an Indie artist. The Burlington, Vermont singer/songwriter releases albums through his own record label, Emote Records. He's also maximized his fan base over eight albums, with fans funding some or all of his last five albums through pre-orders and donations. Douglass' 2008 album, Battler, inspired by a particularly dark season of HBO's Six Feet Under, was a collaborative effort. Douglass worked with Righteous Babe Records' Anais Mitchell and singer extraordinaire Grace Potter to craft an album that resulted in universal acclaim. The album spawned a video for "Hang Around" that charted for six consecutive months on LOGO TV's Click List Top 10 Video Countdown, and appearances with artists such as Jason Mraz, Regina Spektor, Margaret Cho and Melissa Ferrick. Gregory Douglass' latest album, Lucid, is a much more personal affair. Long a fan of dream interpretation, Douglass decided to put his dreams to music. But this time out Douglas worked with Ableton Live, creating electronic layers and depth around his compositions, resulting in his most sonically ambitious work to date.

Lucid opens with "The Night", a dark, dream-like soliloquy that plays like a lullaby for those who cannot rest. It's an intriguing start, simultaneously soothing and subtly disturbing. "Lucid" is a solid album track. This is the first time Douglass really digs into his more electronic sound, and the song is compelling for the choices he makes as he layers sound upon sound. Like most first steps, the song has some rough edges, but Douglass' distinctive ear wins out in the end. "White Out" blends soul, electro and rock in compelling fashion, although there is an overly recursive nature to the tune that asserts itself.

Douglass strips things down a bit for "Naysayer", building on a simple arrangement in subtle fashion. This is the most sonically compelling piece on the album. Listeners will sit and wait for the big breakout that never comes, but Douglas continues to build in small, almost imperceptible detail, fulfilling the social contract of the song but always leaving you wanting a bit more. It's brilliant. Lucid falls into a bit of a rut in the middle, recovering on the intriguing melody of "Raven”. Douglass creates tremendous movement in the melody line, buttressing it with the dark timbres and shading of the stark arrangement. This musical climax winds down slowly through two additional tracks, "One True Thing" and "From Now On", both musical aperitifs that slowly draw the album to a close.

Gregory Douglass brings his intriguing voice to bear against the stark backdrop of dreams on Lucid. The result is downright compelling at times. Douglass creates musical intrigue with a newfound love of electronic layering, but this is a double-edged sword at times, as it also fills in the nuance of his songwriting at times, leveling the sonic landscape and creating a sense of continuity that is, at times oppressive. Like many experiments, Lucid has its moments of grandeur and glitz, as well as moments soon forgotten, but the album marks the continued evolution of Douglass as an artist. There's little doubt that Douglass learned as much from this project as listeners will from listening, and will continue to build on those lessons as he moves forward. For now, Lucid, remains a compelling experiment from a prodigious artist; one very much worth exploring.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Gregory Douglass at www.gregorydouglass.com or www.myspace.com/gregorydouglass. 

Review: Gregory Douglass - Battler

Gregory Douglass – Battler
2009, Emote Records

Look up Indie Musician in the dictionary and you’ll find a picture of Gregory Douglass. Douglass has released seven albums on his own imprint, Emote Records, touring all over the US and winning accolades at almost every turn along the way. Compared favorably with artists such as Tori Amos, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley and Fiona Apple, Douglass has a unique sound and vocal style that you’ll be able to identify immediately once you’ve heard it. His latest CD, Battler, was inspired by serious soul searching and a Vermont winter shuttered in watching HBO’s Six Feet Under.

Douglass writes gloriously melodic and dark story-songs that give categorization a wide birth. Opening with Broken Through, Douglass builds on a minor-key piano riff into a dynamic and shadowy story. Day Of The Battler bring uniquely stilted rhythms into the mix, like something Kurt Weill might have written if he grew up in today’s musical environment. No Apology strips nearly all of the instrumentation away in a haunting vocal harmony peace you need to hear. Madeline is a lush harmonic rock song that sounds like it could have been co-written by Tori Amos and Lou Gramm. This Is My Life might be a signature song for Douglass as it perfectly captures the dark undercarriage that seems to be his unique musical cornerstone. Other highlights include Sadly (with Anais Mitchell), Ordinary Man (with the talented Grace Potter) and Harlequin.

Gregory Douglass walks, marches and sings to his own drummer. Listening to him sing and play is like hearing one half of his communication with another world. The results are dark, exciting and lovely, even when you know there’s a whole other part of the conversation you can’t hear. Douglass is a unique talent, and the music glimpses he’s offered to us here could be considered gifts. Battler is not a recording to pass up.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Gregory Douglass at www.myspace.com/gregorydouglass or http://www.gregorydouglass.com/. You can purchase a copy of Battler at www.cdbaby.com/cd/gdouglass9.