The 3rd volume of the Bostonian Beware Wolves sees the moon progress to its full quarter phase (Check the review for the second volume if you don’t get it), and with it a new set of songs, similar in essence and soul. So, how does this volume stack up against the 2 stunning, previous ones? Let’s find out.
For the late comers, Beware Wolves is an elusive Bostonian who happened to drop 9 albums within a single month, August of 2022. We’ve been tasked with taking this expansive body of work for a spin to know more about the artist and to find out if these 4 and a half hours’ worth of music holds any actual value.
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In short, it does. Beware Wolves music is stunningly direct, and deceptively simple. All of it seems directed towards a significant person in his life, a thought that gives the music a clear sense of direction and purpose, even if it is untrue. With a song called Anna in the 1st volume, and another called Danielle in the 2nd, the grand romantic gesture that the music seems to hold might end up being nothing more a ruse. But we may never know. For The Love of You starts the album on a romantic note. Beautifully sung, with touching melodies, and colorful guitar musing. This song features little in terms of vocal harmonies, making the atmosphere of one-man-one-guitar feel intimate and warm. Glow is simple, with warm, vulnerable singing, and accommodating harmonies. The chords are sweet and direct with heartfelt picking that sometimes feels a little messy, but in a way that heightens the humanness of the song. Good Ride sees the artist explore a bluesy musical trope, finally using a cliché chord progression and going all out on his vocal part. With syncopation and belted notes, the vocal part of Good Ride is easily one of his more powerful and present vocal parts this far into his discography. The lyrics are also smart and sweet, and the composition sees him making use of a variety of picking techniques to make dynamic changes between a more hushed down verse part, and a more driving and rocking chorus.
Goodbye is a minimal tune, with a sparse vocal part and a guitar part that’s full of space. The lyrics are full of peaceful melancholy and haunting romanticisms. Gravity is a warm singer/songwriter piece with affectionate vocals and an interesting composition that hits the occasional foreign chord, infusing an intense, vivid color suddenly into an otherwise serene soundscape. Green Thumb has a playful sound with peppy, prominent harmonies and a relatively muted guitar part. With a fast rhythm and dynamic (albeit minimal) arrangement, it’s a jumpy tune that features some mildly dissonant and energetic chords. Healing Eyes has Beware Wolves channel his inner Elvis. Through a nuanced and dynamic guitar performance, and a vocal part that reaches high, and is fairly acted throughout, this cinematic piece is intricate and is not like most of the stuff we’ve heard from him until this point.
In Beware Wolves’ third collection of songs we see him stepping a little outside of his box, exploring a number of rhythmic, harmonic, and vocal musical ideas that manages to bring new blood into his sound, making this collection no less compelling or enjoyable than the ones before. 3 out of 9, there is still a long way to go, with a lot that can go wrong, and far more to get right.