Brock Tyler’s Unclosing is not for the fast and the furious crowd. The local songwriter has created an album that is dreamy, its head floating along in the clouds high above rather than tearing along the ground at street level. But, while Tyler’s voice is an ethereal creature that at times reaches toward a whispered falsetto without actually going the whole distance, the music keeps one foot firmly on the ground, with mandolins and banjos keeping it all from drifting off into incorporeal nothingness.
“Sparkle Street” is a fine example of the thoughtfulness that holds tightly onto this album, taking what could pass in mere moments of real time—walking along a sidewalk, getting in a car and heading home—and elongating it to the point that it feels like slow motion. The song itself doesn’t drag, though, shimmering as it sets the scene with little urge to hurry along. Unclosing is an album for reflection, best suited to a time when night has already fallen, a bottle of wine is at hand and there is no need for speed.
- Eden Munroe, Vue Weekly
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Singer-songwriters are so common that one can't help but wonder if it's all been done before. With Unclosing, Edmonton's Brock Tyler hardly makes a case to argue against this statement. He borrows from Ben Gibbard, Sufjan Stevens, and many others who have come before him throughout this 11-song disc. Still, it's hard to resist a CD that was made with such care. That's not to say it sounds laboured or forced. Rather, it means that from the sweet love songs, to the ornate production, to the screen-printed CD packaging, Unclosing is the work of someone who took the time to fully realize his vision. Tyler wrote, recorded and performed everything himself, augmenting his nearly-whispered tenor and gently strummed acoustic guitar with drums, bass, banjo, claves, bells and the occasional horn part. Standout tracks include “It Will All Come Right,” “The Devil's on Horseback,” and “Hangman,” in which he uses the children's game as a metaphor for the breakdown in communication between two lovers. It's hard to say sometimes when a singer-songwriter's doing just a little too much soul-baring, but Tyler seems to have found the balance. Catch the Winnipeg expat live when he plays at Canadian Mennonite University on April 27.
4 out of 5
- Aaron Epp, The Uniter
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