{"id":1447076,"date":"2018-12-13T09:08:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T14:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/?p=1447076"},"modified":"2018-12-13T09:14:43","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T14:14:43","slug":"redd-alexander-imposter-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/2018\/12\/13\/redd-alexander-imposter-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Redd Alexander: &#8216;Imposter Syndrome&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1447077\" src=\"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/12\/Redd-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/12\/Redd-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/12\/Redd-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/12\/Redd.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Tyler Alexander fancies himself a troubadour of sorts. Or, well, at least so it seems if you head to his website or listen to his debut record, \u201cImposter Syndrome.\u201d Going by the name of Redd Alexander (have a look at his scruffy demeanor for a tip as to why he presumably chose \u201cRedd\u201d to stand in for \u201cTyler\u201d), he loves him some acoustic guitar, twangy vocals and low-grade prosthelytization. Add a drum, harmonica and tambourine, and Alexander doesn\u2019t apologize for setting out to be the wisest of street prophets.<\/p>\n<p>The problem? He might not be as poignant as he thinks he is. That\u2019s, in no small part, because of the backdrop behind his message. For such a spare, folky collection of songs, you hope that musically, the effort would be skin tight. It\u2019s not. Instead, there are useless unsteady kick drum patterns that muddy up the production and multiple guitar tracks that don\u2019t always line up. In short, you want to love it, but in this case, it\u2019s hard enough to even get to \u201clike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those musical issues are most prevalent on \u201cI\u2019ll Be Damned,\u201d which is one of the rare moments that highlight electric guitar riffing on top of his tried and true acoustic aesthetics. Why he would resort to such things, though, is anybody\u2019s guess, because in short, they aren\u2019t needed. In fact, they only make the track feel more disjointed than it already does \u2014 and with some unsteady percussion trying to keep up in the background, the end result is a bit of a mess.<\/p>\n<p>Better is \u201cCowboy Hats And Camouflage,\u201d which asserts itself as one of the most tender, sincere moments here. It works best because of how pared down it is \u2014 the only thing adding to his guitar and voice is a smartly placed harmonica \u2014 but the true secret weapon here is Alexander\u2019s steady guitar playing. The simple victory allows this song to stand above its contemporaries in palpable ways. It\u2019s almost like listening to a brand new artist.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PLYSSWg7gd_pr4QCuYfhA05tDJ974iV7bx\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ditto for \u201cEvery Chance I Can,\u201d which reminds listeners that the singer works best the less he has around him. Based around a pretty six-string pattern, Alexander can\u2019t say he\u2019s not influenced by Bob Dylan with the way his off-kilter singing voice fades in and out of key with his own unique twist. In this case, it works because of the seemingly genuine tale that unfolds, all beginning with \u201cI cussed you out this morning\/\u2018Cause you washed my jeans,\u201d a line that\u2019s sure to grab ears.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a shame this isn\u2019t a record filled with those moments because instead, we get the scolding of \u201cBreadcrumbs and Circuses,\u201d an airing of grievances that feels more forced than it should. Unapologetically wavering in tempo with that silly drum-and-tambourine combo, Alexander\u2019s poetry fails to hit the mark it so desperately wants to tackle, which isn\u2019t something new: A look down at authority, popular culture and society for all its warts and shortcomings. Even though it\u2019s a little to on-the-nose to take seriously, it still should probably earn points for being the only song written in 2018 from Frederick that references PornHub.<\/p>\n<p>More depressing is \u201cRight Here Waiting,\u201d if only because while the admirable sentiment is there, the song itself turns out to highlight why the LP as a whole doesn\u2019t work as well as it should: Alexander doesn\u2019t know who he wants to be. Musically, the track echoes simple pop music, a contrast from the folk ethos he otherwise seems to champion. That issue creeps in and out of most every other song, too, outside of a select few. It steals credibility away from someone seemingly eager to gain it. Sure, this track is a heartfelt ode to a daughter, but the pleasantry of a love letter is overshadowed by his lack in identity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody Knows.\u201d \u201cNothin\u2019 More Than Change.\u201d \u201cUp In Smoke.\u201d They all suffer from the same sogginess. It\u2019s unfortunate because at his core, Redd Alexander is more John Moreland than Jason Mraz, but you wouldn\u2019t quite gather that from \u201cImposter Syndrome.\u201d While an admirable shot at a first solo LP, the unevenness of the performances weigh the entire thing down. In short, it\u2019s the sound of an artist you\u2019d like to hear five years from now, not only in the name of evolution, but also execution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t think that you\u2019re a winner in this pay-to-play game,\u201d he offers on \u201cBreadcrumbs and Circuses.\u201d \u201cThose rules have long been written with no plans to ever change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reassess some plans, and things could get interesting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>** 2 STARS OUT OF 4 **<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tyler Alexander fancies himself a troubadour of sorts. Or, well, at least so it seems if you head to his website or listen to his debut record, \u201cImposter Syndrome.\u201d Going&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1447077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1447076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1447076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1447077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1447076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1447076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1447076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}