Williamson
Backesto Park
(The Orchard)

Wade Williamson plays all instruments and heads the production here of the band Williamson and the new Backesto Park. “All Thanks to Paul” features xylophone-like plinks and a shunking drum machine beat, it’s soft, sprinkly and sweet opener that layers nicely as the song progresses, though it’s not a tune that goes much further than some little U2-like guitar picking. I like the low mawing-like synth and simple, splashy drums of the poppy “Jellyfish Hustle” much better, with its expert little guitar bends and the nipping tight beat of “Let’s Learn Japanese,” which will get you up dancing. Again Williamson layers in the instruments well here, the pretty piano works with the language lesson we get over the whole concoction. Listen well for the discordant guitar her, it’s very creative stuff indeed. We get gated guitar on the jangly “The Pawnksatoney Fill,” again Williamson is very aware of exactly what he is playing, even causing the certain notes to waggle out of tune. Though I’m not sure there’s much here in this one, expertly rendered as it is. The short “Wade and Bonnie’s Craft Room,” while of the same ilk (synth sounds over a main guitar phrase works really nicely) lifts one off into the space Williamson is realizing. Coming to the end of these 14, I can easily say Williamson is a singular composer, a very good guitar player and in some very real cases the instrumentals here have lots to say. In other cases I feel some stuff are ideas that sound nice, but are not so realized.