Fantasy Book Critic: Song(s) of the Week: Garfield Mayor, Brandon Heath and Alex Band

Garfield Mayor is the first artist signed to R Tel / Epic, the new label started by Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas and EMI Music Publishing executive Evan Lamberg. Mayor, who wrote, arranged and produced all the songs on his debut, weaves pop melodies around trenchant lyrics that are filled with disappointment, such as the tale of a selfish man trying his best but still falling short in his lover’s eyes in the haunting first single “Take & Take” or the flawed anti-hero of “Invisible.”

Technically, Mayor’s debut album, “Take and Take”, is not due for physical release until sometime in 2009, but it’s been available for download on iTunes since July 2008. The lead single, also called “Take & Take”, immediately made me download the record, and while it is quite impressive at times, the single is easily the highlight of the album:

Official Garfield Major Myspace
Order “Take and Take” HERE

Brandon Heath is a Christian singer/songwriter from NYC. He’s released four albums so far, two independently and two through Reunion Records. His most recent record, “What If We”, came out on August 19, 2008 and was my introduction to the artist. For the most part, “What If We” is a solid, if unoriginal pop/rock album and the only reason I’m mentioning it is because of the awesome opening song, “Give Me Your Eyes”:

Official Brandon Heath Website
Official Brandon Heath Myspace
Order “What If We” HERE

If you were a fan of The Calling, best known for their hit song “Wherever You Will Go”, then you might enjoy Alex Band who was the vocalist for that group. Now a solo artist, armed with his own indie record label, Alex Band is putting the finishing touches on his long-awaited full-length album. In a preview of the record, Alex independently released a five-song EP on April 25, 2008 called simply, the “Alex Band EP.”

Now I’ve always been impressed with The Calling’s songwriting skills, but as a solo artist Alex has really taken it to another level. I mean, for an independent release, the “Alex Band EP” is head and shoulders above most major-label backed records and features five standout tracks led by the stunning “Only One”:

Official Alex Band Website
Official Alex Band Myspace
Order “Alex Band EP” HERE

Previous Songs of the Week:

August 17, 2008
August 24, 2008
August 30, 2008
September 7, 2008
September 14, 2008
September 21, 2008

3:01 AM |

Posted by Robert |

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...: The first song is genuinely superb. The other two are ok but that first one, a shame that the rest isn't as good but that is usually the case.

P.S.

Still no time for reviewing Robert? Oh I can try can't I? The site hasn't been the same since, I have to say.; September 28, 2008 at 7:45 AM
Anonymous said...: Yes, Take and Take by Garfield Mayor is fantastic, but take the time to really listen to the rest of the record. There are some really great songs there. I downloaded this a while ago and I can't stop listening to it.; September 28, 2008 at 8:03 AM
Robert said...: Calibander, I'm glad you like "Take and Take" :) I've been listening to that song over and over for months now...

As far as reviewing, I did review The Nightmare Factory 2 recently ;) And I plan on reviewing a couple of other graphic novels in the future. But otherwise, my situation is the same. We'll see how things go after the new year...

Anonymous, I've listened to the record dozens of times and I agree that there are some great songs on the album, but nothing--in my mind--that measures up to Take and Take :) Still, I wouldn't hesitate in buying the whole record...; September 28, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Just listened to Garfield Mayer's CD... AMAZING... Why isn't this all over the radio? Wake up people!; October 15, 2008 at 12:10 PM