If the folks at Elephant 6 aren’t head over heels with this disc, there’s simply no justice left in the world.
A concept record about a boy named Giver who wakes up on a distant shore and struggles with his love for an island girl, Ramon Alarcon’s latest is a tender and eclectic collection of acoustic song-stories that are as emotive as they are difficult to pin down to a genre. Over the span of 11 songs, there are shades of Neutral Milk Hotel, sure, but also strong hints of flamenco, Hawaiian slack key guitar and — could it be? — Edith Piaf.
The record’s most riveting detail, though, is clearly Alarcon’s one-of-a-kind voice, which hits you in the gut whether it’s casually coasting over a gentle guitar pattern or soaring in that cherubic, almost chirpy falsetto.
There’s a brief appearance, in the disc’s latter tracks, of recorder and accordion but the record is an affair dominated by Alarcon’s voice and his acoustic guitar, and for good reason. It’s what sells the story. – Punk Planet, March/April 2006
