sir Was - Digging A Tunnel

Gothenburg’s DIY multi-instrumentalist Joel Wastberg has released an album full of found sounds, dreamy hushed vocals and uneasy beats. He’s a cool dude - check the video for lead track In The Midst, which has a woozy doo-wop feel - it isn’t what I was expecting. The title tune has a warm fuzzy vibe, always his vocals veering from a monotone spoken word delivery to soulfully melodic. The bass practically overwhelms the other sounds at times, booming and growling but always at a trip-hop pace. Nothing here is destined for a dancefloor any time soon, but break out the bong and it’ll work its magic. On the upside, this is a sound I like a lot. On the down, though, it can be difficult to separate the tracks after hearing them and can often feel like one idea expressed repeatedly. Variety is important, otherwise the public may simply stream the two or three standouts. Full marks for delivering a record that is almost entirely his own work, including the playing of clarinet and sax, to the production and mixing - in fact the only music he didn’t play on this were recorded on his iPhone while travelling. It’s a good indication of his undoubted potential, I just need more reasons to put it back on the deck than we have here.

7/10