Ian Bouras is a male guitarist, composer based out of New York City. This might just be the perfect locale to explore the melting pot of musical expression without limitation. His latest album “The Certainty of Being Found” is a fascinating-melodic-melancholy but truthful collection of melodic ambient jazz that reveals all the a-typical conventions of chill, dub, Reggae, and even Experimental. All of this and more create a solid yet catchy album. The first track “The Clues are in the Dialogue” an extremely foreboding, dynamic, methodical yet impressive kickoff statement. It does a great job of starting things off with its pulsating grove, and dark theatrical feel. I could not wait to hear what was around the next corner, which in itself presents a stunning 12 tracks line-up. As the album slowly runs the gamut it has much to offer in the way of melodic music and captivating rhythms that make the listener feel like they’re in feature film by Quentin Teraatino. Musical comparables include bands like The Mindless Self Indulgence, Sum 41, Electric Six. One cannot help but admire artists with strong songwriting skills and truthful conviction all the while demonstrating a strong a level of creativity. One senses a growing ambition as this album advances. Bouras’ appealing music, slamming guitar playing hit the mark and with intellectually stimulating lyrics providing a very real and powerful source of inspiration overall. Bouras is one of those artists not afraid to put his toe into the experimental side of the pool shall we say. The musicianship pulls out all the stops, and the overall production value tows the line. All in all a great set of songs. Speaking of which notable standouts for me include: The Clues are in the Dialogue, Thoughts on Angels, Existing in 3D.
If you want a gentle shock to the everyday musical system via a soothing atmospheric staple there’s something on this record for you. Obviously many will fail to identify with some of this though, and perhaps this cult is what fans will like about it. Having said that this CD is not for anyone and is really made for those who have an open mind and love experimental Ambient Jazz. Some of this plays into marketability. Some pieces present more modern sounding overtones but despite the flavor there are still traditional Ambient Jazz textures from earlier eras. This is really what makes The Certainty of Being Found so enticing to me personally. In this aspect Ian Bouras is an impressive artist, and also grants you rare access to peer into the creative soul of a quintessential artist — which has no limits.
URL: http://soundcloud.com/ian-c-bouras
Review by Blaine Calhoun edited by J.J. McCall
Final Rating: 8/10
Review comments: johnmccall964@gmail.com
