Nick Powell – “Unsettled” Review
Posted: by Sean Gonzalez
Click here to STREAM the EP on Spotify
Play the first track to Unsettled and hear a voice that is incredibly chilling with stellar musicianship backing up. The guitars are crisp and clean, just the way an acoustic guitar should be. As ‘Solomon’ comes to a close Powell unleashes his voice into a startling scream. It’s emotional and full of power, revealing much of what this five song EP will bring forth to the listener’s ears.
‘Rest With Me’ is a precious song with a serene ambiance to it. The chorus melody bounces up and down with wonderful dual harmonies between Powell and a female vocalist, never being too daunting rather having a familiar and intimate feel. Powell paints a picture with his lyrics on ‘Morning Sun’ while closing the EP with another harmonious composition.
There is not much variation to the songs across this EP. They have a simple structure but are made grand with the vocal work giving off incredible weight along with string sections appearing along side. They never hinder the song by being too in the way of the natural progression either. Take for example the song ‘Piercer’ where they weave in and out for the verses and chorus. They even have their own march as the chorus comes to an end, keeping the rhythm the guitars were providing before. It is little occurrences like this that show the detail Nick Powell was putting into this EP.
Nick Powell has always been a musician I have admired for his ability to craft interesting melodies together. He was the guitarist and primary writer for a small hardcore band A Past Unknown before and now shows off his musicianship on Unsettled. These five tracks are short and sweet, never overstaying their welcome but always offering a ton of comfort and a bit of shock value by how delicate they appear. Definitely check out ‘Solomon’ and find the entire thing on iTunes today.
