Posted on: January 8, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

The indie style of AlRoy during tracks like “Do You Know What I Mean” shows a more simple time. I hear hints of The Breeders in AlRoy’s vocals. The compositions are simple and allow listeners that might not be that knowledgeable about music to appreciate the track. The vocal-dominant style of “Gorgeous Enormous” might be something that is not that compelling to listeners, but this is not vocal heavy to the point of AlRoy’s vocals hiding every bit of instrumentation on the disc. Individuals can still hear the framework that the instruments create on “My First Mistake”.

Something that should draw listeners in to AlRoy’s web has to be eir compelling vocal style. It is very humble, and does not feel full of itself. There are so many solo singers at this point of time that would use vocal trills or brashly stand in front of the instrumentation that lifts them to that level, and AlRoy does neither of these things throughout the 12 tracks of “Gorgeous Enormous”. Another strength of “Gorgeous Enormous” has to be the fact that AlRoy does not try to push eirself down the throat of eir listeners. Most of the vocal tracks, especially those during “Italian Parsley”, are done in a meandering style. This is not to say that the vocals are half-heartedly done, but rather are done in a way that emphasize a certain quaintness in these compositions.

This makes AlRoy fundamentally different from anyone else on the market, and it is this difference that should make copies of “Gorgeous Enormous” fly off of the shelves. Just because a few tracks have contributed to a general sound on this disc does not mean that AlRoy is locked into a general style. For exam[ple, “Valentines Day” is a track that is different from the rest of the songs on the disc, as it relies on a tempo and overall sound that feels much older (almost to the point of being 1920s-feeling). The disc may only be compelling to a specific subset of listeners, but there are minute things present throughout all of AlRoy’s tracks that should be impressive to fans of all stripes. I don’t expect metal fans to pick up this album, but for anyone that is appreciative of good pop and indie-based rock, “Gorgeous Enormous” may just be the able to pick up for August of 2006. AlRoy is a surprising (relative) new-comer to the scene; give eir a chance!

Top Tracks: He’s Amazing, Italian Parsley

Rating: 6.3/10

[JMcQ]

Carolyn AlRoy – Gorgeous Enormous / 2005 Wussy / 12 Tracks / http://www.carolynalroy.com /

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