Artist: Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club
Album: The Lakes of Alberta
Genre: Acoustic
Label: Unsigned

Track Listing:
1.The Lakes of Alberta, Pt. II
2.Medicine Hat
3.Canmore Hotel
4.The Lakes of Alberta, Pt. I
5.When I Get There 

When I first caught wind of this album, I hoped that it would sound similar to Tokyo Police Club’s acoustic Interface Sessions. Unfortunately, Graham Wright’s solo project sounds nothing of the sort. This album encompasses the dreams of a lovesick man, desperate to win back a love he lost long ago. Though each song is a little different, they have the same basic lyrics, and repeat the same phrases. Not one song goes by where the words “I love you”, and “your husband” are not present. There is not one song with a chorus, which is reminiscent of a Bright Eyes album, and leaves me feeling a little stunned. While many concept or story albums seem to grow as the songs progress, this one works in a backwards fashion. 

The album starts off with part two of a two part song, leading one to wonder if the record was intended to be that way, or if part one is supposed to be the first song. Either way, The Lakes of Alberta part 2 annoys me with it’s constant repetition of “I love you”. It is not Graham’s voice or playing that needs work, but his writing abilities. Though his rhyme schemes are satisfactory and tie the songs together well, they are not enough to make me want to listen to this album any more than I have to.

Perhaps I would be more sympathetic towards Graham if I was not aware of what he is musically capable of. I understand that solo projects are supposed to sound much different than the artist’s main band, but in this case I feel that Graham could have done much better. There are other acoustic acts out right now that sound fuller and more put together than this. I suggest you choose to listen to one of them instead.

You can download the cd for free here: 
http://grahamwright.bandcamp.mu/

*Written By: Sarah Rodda*
Grade: 4/10

• Author
• Recent Posts

James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

Latest posts by James Shotwell (see all)

• 2015’s Most Underrated Films - December 29, 2015
• Passing The Torch: The End Of An Era For UTG - December 1, 2015
• UTG PREMIERE: Before The Streetlights – “Private Browser” - November 26, 2015