Written
by Jason Hillenburg, posted by blog admin
English
born Thomas Abban’s fifteen song release A Sheik’s Legacy is one of the more
blazing debut efforts in recent memory. Transplanted to the comparatively alien
environment of Minnesota, Abban mines the long history of rock, pop, and its accompanying
forms to fashion a collection that boasts impressive musical firepower as well
as a clear sense of identity few new songwriters and performers are capable of
presenting on an initial release. His vocal talents are equally considerable
and he inhabits each of these songs with an amazing presence that’s impossible
to deny. A variety of styles get a thorough workout on A Sheik’s Legacy, but
Abban sounds comfortable with each one and manages to say something unique
while still nodding to his array of influences. It makes for one of the more
invigorating listens of 2017 and should offer a firm retort to anyone who dares
to think that rock music, as an artistic force, is dead.
The
ominous tilt to “Death Song” is difficult to forget but Abban further ups the
ante with his impossibly beautiful voice. The contrast between the rather dire
lyric and the crystalline beauty he summons with his voice couldn’t be more
pronounced. “Symmetry & Black Tar” features more vocal pyrotechnics from
Abban, but they aren’t shallow showing off and the assortment of tempo shifts
and turns he brings to this song proves he’s quite at home with surprising and
challenging the audience’s preconceived notions about song structure. Despite
the challenging build of this song, we feel like we remain in familiar
territory throughout, but we’re definitely in the hands of an inspired singer
and lyricist. He mixes some inventive percussion with bluesy guitar fills and
runs on the song “Fear” and the lyric finds a new way of discussing the
subject, fear, which nonetheless conveys his point. He unleashes a ferocious
stomp just before the song’s midway point that will surely jar anyone not
paying attention.
The
gut wrenching wail his voice achieves on the song “Time to Think” represents
another high point for Abban and the wildly inventive arrangement will
entertain many, but Abban may be trying a little too hard at certain points to
pack EVERYTHING into these songs. He’s certainly successful at doing so; it
just may make some listeners a little dizzy. “Sinner” confines itself to
acoustic instrumentation for the most part and eschews many of the breakneck
changes in direction defining many of the album’s other songs. There’s a
similar muted tone he takes on for the track “Let Me Tell You Something” and a
bit of post production effects applied to his voice that further underscores
that feel. The guitar work in this song is particularly effective. The
eyepopping vocal treatment he reserves for the song “Lord” is another highlight
on this dazzling release and it only gets better as the song goes on. The
sludge soaked blues crawl of “Uh” has a particularly tortured trajectory and
Abban definitely throws himself into the song like a man whose life depends on
this performance coming out the way he needs it to. A Sheik’s Legacy is a
monumental effort cut to an enormous scale and Thomas Abban leaves no stone
unturned in his attempt to wow the audience.
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