I dig his message but something about his music just grinds in my ears. I’m not sure exactly what it is, or why I don’t feel the same way about Guthrie. Maybe something to do with finding him on Instagram biased me, but that seems far fetched.
I found him on yt and was also initially trepidatious for that reason. The low production of his videos (pretty much all are one shot/one take playing a song outdoors) and clear lack of algorithmic support have largely assuaged those concerns. There are of course more radical acts I absolutely love, but Wingnut Dishwasher’s Union or Andrew Jackson Jihad are for a much smaller audience. I’m glad he’s doing what he does and appreciate being able to relate to his music along with my family
Just listened to some of his songs and he just sounds like a cheap imitation of the great folk singers of the 60s and 70s and he’s completely on the nose with his lyrics. Reminds me a lot of James McMurtry and Jason Isbell, but less interesting musically.
I’m going to restate this take more positively: continuing in the tradition of Guthrie and Dylan, Wells’s direct lyricism and simple folk melodies provide a much needed continuity with the American counterculture of yesteryear
I dig his message but something about his music just grinds in my ears. I’m not sure exactly what it is, or why I don’t feel the same way about Guthrie. Maybe something to do with finding him on Instagram biased me, but that seems far fetched.
His music has a message but it lacks anything catchy. Rarely a chorus. It’s not the most enjoyable music.
I found him on yt and was also initially trepidatious for that reason. The low production of his videos (pretty much all are one shot/one take playing a song outdoors) and clear lack of algorithmic support have largely assuaged those concerns. There are of course more radical acts I absolutely love, but Wingnut Dishwasher’s Union or Andrew Jackson Jihad are for a much smaller audience. I’m glad he’s doing what he does and appreciate being able to relate to his music along with my family
Don’t they just go by AJJ now?
Quite possibly, you tell me!
Just listened to some of his songs and he just sounds like a cheap imitation of the great folk singers of the 60s and 70s and he’s completely on the nose with his lyrics. Reminds me a lot of James McMurtry and Jason Isbell, but less interesting musically.
I’m going to restate this take more positively: continuing in the tradition of Guthrie and Dylan, Wells’s direct lyricism and simple folk melodies provide a much needed continuity with the American counterculture of yesteryear
I like this take and agree with it.
Cheap imitation is good enough for me. Those guys were all cheap imitations of the artists of the 30s and 40s anyway