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Chris Garneau
SXSW usually means visions of rowdy punk crowds and hard-rocking guitarists, or soulful dueling divas, but it would behoove all of us to take a moment for something subtle, something intricate, some music requiring further inspection, someone like Chris Garneau, a recent signee to Absolutely Kosher.
With a pretty-boy face and razor-sharp tongue, Garneau represents a rarity for solo piano players. You won't find him playing outdated piano bars or department store lobbies, nor will you find corny renditions of jazz standards nor cheese-ball-ridden odes to lost loves. No, he lies somewhere between Duncan Shiek and Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart.
Instead, he's got a bit of Elliott Smith's emotional fragility crossed with Sufjan Steven's fluttery wisp, and a dark, slithery undercurrent that only occasionally reveals itself before swimming out of reach. Every restrained word sung sounds like its been wrested from an inner cage, suddenly angry chords rise up and slap you in the face, and even majestic string arrangements sound dark and tormented, but mesmerizing.
Even a song like "Not Nice," which starts out deceptively ordinary, overturns expectations. We cringe to hear Garneau sing, "You're not nice, you're not nice...I've rather leave you alone," but can't turn the song off, especially as the violin and cello continue their sorrowful conversation. Chris Garneau makes bittersweet, breath-taking piano pop that is in a class of its own.
Chris Garneau - Not Nice
Chris Garneau - First Place
Chris Garneau's official site. Buy Music for Tourists at Amazon or iTunes.
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 02.23.07 at 7:05 AM
Comments
"Music for Tourists" is so fucking beautiful. It's obvious that if someone else tried to do these songs, they'd fail miserably. Garneau manages to straddle cute/sad/silly so well and always come off as sincere.
Posted by: Jjschueppert at 03.08.07 at 3:13 PM
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