![]() His confident sounding voice is out of sync with the questioning of his position in the world. Gallant speaks about addiction, faith and again the self doubt which seems to creep into so many of his songs. Even if you are not following the lyrics the melody will have you hooked because this is one of the most atmospheric R&B/Soul songs I have personally heard- and I’ve heard a lot. Gallant draws you in with his lyrics that are just poetry. Musically the synth drums and backing vocals are dreamy. A stunning song and one of my favourite tracks from the last few years. ![]() “Bourbon” is the 4th track and by far my favourite song on the album. Self confidence appears to be an issue for Gallant. The metaphor used is ‘what good is a sword next to a shotgun” in which he is the sword but others have shotguns and whilst he may come across nice he is vulnerable and not in a position to be like other people. “Shotgun” is what I would consider his most ‘Usher’ sounding song in terms of the way he uses his vocal but lyrically Gallant impresses again with an introspective look at how he comes across in his life. ![]() It’s a good opening track and he showcases some of his vocal range. Themes of loneliness and self criticism are evident also. On this song he is contemplating if he is going crazy and wondering if this will carry through his entire life. “Talking To Myself” is the first full length track which sounds quite run of the mill compared to many of the tracks on here. It all begins with the track “First” which is an instrumental that as just noted sounds as if we are building up to some sort of church like ritual. It is easy to draw comparisons of his vocal as there are bits of Maxwell, Marvin Gaye, Usher and I have even been told he sounds a bit like Sam Smith (can’t actually hear that myself).Įxploring the themes of love and life “Ology” is a rich album full of hooks and laden with gospel like backing vocals which give the album a church like atmosphere. Gallant has a vocal range that will even have the likes of Maxwell taking a step back. It always warms the heart to know that there is still great music out there and still R&B music which hasn’t been produced to death in an attempt to generate a radio hit above all else. I have been pleasantly surprised to the point that this album is one of my favourties released in 2016. Gallant came to my attention off the back of the track “Bourbon” (which is featured on this set) but it took me some time to actually listen closer to the artist to find out what he was all about. "House of cards" might have been an early phrase in his mind as he started to write the levitating "Counting," the first line of which is "We built a glass monastery over the fault lines." Tuning out the lyrics isn't necessarily critical to the enjoyment of Ology, not when those words are expressed with comparatively effortless and winning hooks, punctuated by howls that slay.“Ology” is the debut studio album released by American Singer/Songwriter Gallant. In the faith-questioning "Bourbon," a synth-funk slow jam, he compares himself to a headless horseman who somehow has not lost the ability to pray. That song is in a dimension separate from that of, say, Top 15 pop hit "Post to Be," with Gallant and Aiko aching about "skipping stones in washed up brooks." The verses in the relatively current-sounding tracks, most of which are produced by Ajay Bhattacharyya (aka Stint), indicate that Gallant labors over writing metaphors that are often as baffling as they are vivid. A debut full-length refreshingly bold enough to contain one guest appearance from a singer instead of several from rappers, it features only Jhené Aiko, who appears over some of Adrian Younge's psychedelic soul. That's likely the closest Ology, the song's parent album, will get to the mainstream. "Weight in Gold," a bursting modern soul ballad issued in 2015, received a major boost from high-profile disc jockey Zane Lowe, but that support didn't translate into crossover status. At the same time, he went about finding nonstandard and borderline impenetrable ways of detailing inner crises and standard romantic pitfalls. After he fell in with the independent operation Mind of a Genius, and then a partnership with major label Warner Bros., Gallant's sound started to become more defined, easier to grasp, yet still beyond the periphery of the urban contemporary radio format. It also suggested that Gallant had something unique to add to R&B outside the constrictions of commercial airwaves. The material invited comparisons to Maxwell, Frank Ocean, Miguel, and, all right, the Weeknd - vocalists unafraid of examining emotional damage and desire in falsetto. Stray tracks and an EP of murky art-pop and R&B were self-released by Christopher Gallant during 20.
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