Posted on: August 12, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Charlie Beresford – The Room is Empty / 2005 Self / 14 Tracks / http://www.charlieberesford.com /

The dissonant opening that Charlie Beresford places on eir “The Room Is Empty” will provide individuals with a challenge. The artistic style of this track may be lost on some, but Beresford’s dedication to making “If Only” work will endear more than a fair share of fans. “Nosfer” is a twenty second string-heavy track that gives more to the atmosphere than anything, winking quietly out of existence and allowing Beresford to move into eir “I Let You Walk With Me”. “I Let You Walk With Me” is a much more straight-forward track, sounding almost as it came from a movie soundtrack.

The tracks are all a few years old (the copyright here is 2005), but there is nothing in the way of dated arrangements or recording styles. The string heavy interludes that present themselves fairly often on “The Room is Empty” construe the only thread that links together the diverse range of songs that are present. “The Tide That Pushed Away” has an acoustic sound to it that only has comparison in Queensryche’s “Silent Lucidity”. The same dedication to details and emotional vocal styles are present in both tracks, and while the track barely cracks the four minute mark, the pensive style of Beresford here engulfs anyone that is listening in. “Hillside Lights” takes this subtle and slow style to an extreme, gradually moving from a level that is barely audible for the first minute into a manic vocal style that belies the slightly-slower tempo of the instrumentation.

This tension harkens back to the dissonance present at the opening of “If Only”, and solidifies the artistic bent that Beresford wanted to insert on the disc. The hammering of the guitar present at point gives a heavier sound to “Hillside Lights” than has been present previously on the disc, before sliding back into the style that Beresford comes back to a number of times during “The Room is Empty”. It will not be easy for individuals just to pick up “The Room is Empty” and get into it. Beresford has installed a number of pitfalls and traps that will trip up individuals that only listen in casually. For those individuals that wish to give the disc a fair listen, “The Room is Empty” will yield great rewards. Give this disc a spin or two only if you can dedicate enough time and energy to the compositions here. Beresford demands it, and for true enjoyment, this should be followed.

Top Tracks: Hillside Lights, Accorbass

Rating: 6.5/10

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