Review of Andy Haut's "Beautiful In The Morning"
A Fresh Folk Pop Artist On the Sunny Side of Life
Aug 14, 2009
Andy Haut expresses the positive message of his album in the following quote, found on his myspace page: "There's absolutely nothing better than that moment when you're finally comfortable in your own skin. When tomorrow doesn't matter, and the things you've done have passed and been accepted. You can't help but to sit back, relax, and put on your favorite song."
Light, Energetic, Slightly Electronic Music
Haut's sound has kicked the electronica down a notch from his 2008 release Prefixes and Remixes and upped the guitar in Beautiful in the Morning for a folkier shade. The album is rich in acoustic, shallow in percussives, and smoothly blended with synthesized chords.
Trickling piano arpeggios pull the rhythm along with a lift, and a bit of voice modulation maintains the slightly electronic feel. Little can be said for the progression and movement of the tunes, however, as the creativity of the music does not exceed that of grocery store or waiting room music.
Beautiful In The Morning opens with an energetic song, fully layered and fast-paced. As the album continues, it cools. "Your Heart," number 7 out of 17, is the passionate center of the album with increased bass and volume, and "Stronger Than That" ends the experience with gentle acoustics.
Haut's Simple Lyrics
The new album's content matches the form as its lyrics are about as unique and mature as the music is. Haut writes with a naive sort of positiveness that, while it does not ignore the hard times in life, struggles to get past basic descriptions of emotions or situations. For example, "Beautiful Day," "This Morning," and "Better" are all songs about having or making a good day, and they all appear on the album with the accurate but fallow title Beautiful in the Morning.
"Still Standing" and "Stronger Than That" about what they sound like--the narrator expresses how he will support the subject "you" by "[holding] in the strongest of weather." "Little Toy Airplane" gives direct insight into what listeners can guess from the rest of the album: that Haut feels uninhibited to be as carefree and happy as he was when he was young. And the music emphasizes that idea too, having a youthful and simple sound.
Despite whatever difficulty Haut may have in originality, he makes his message and identity known on musical and lyrical levels. He is confident, comfortable, happy, and sincerely wants to contribute to the happiness of his listeners.
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