Labels: Friend of Mine – Hartley Craft – Sunset Alliance
Review by: Andy Malcolm
I am not the world’s greatest fan of instrumental guitar music, which is what this album is for the most part. Generally when guitar music is instrumental, it sounds like something is missing. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and Player Piano fall into that. They play classic midwestmo, full of light, twinkly guitars and warm sounds. Except it’s not emo, as there is virtually no singing. It’s pitched perfectly in the American Football / Tristeza ball park, gently rolling along and easing you through your day. Vocals are very occasional, but always welcome when they do crop up. “Scanning Faces” is one of the songs with words, and it opens the album, fooling you into thinking that there is going to be singing on the whole damned thing. The teases. After that, singing is rare, but you do get treated to a multitude of songs full of the perfect guitar sound and great structures. It continues to bewilder me that so many bands were capable of this kind of thing in the past, and now so few seem to bother. The vocals also crop up on “Milwaukee Mile” and the Mineral-esque “May Day”, again making you wish they sung on every damn song, before you forgive them anyway, as all the instrumental songs are equally as good.
This album was originally recorded in 2002, so it’s good to see it given the light of day again – hopefully it will go on to inspire a few more bands to play this kind of music. And sing whilst doing so. In the meantime, listen to this one, it’ll fulfill your 2008 quota for twinkly guitars many times over. Very, very nice.