“Falling Out” is his latest release from Portland based Singer/Songwriter Barton who used to be the guitarist for local band Petals. “Falling Out” is his latest release and it has much to commend it. Admittedly, there is a whole lot of variety to these arrangements and performances. First: The impressive Barton knows how to play guitar and delivers rock solid playing, writing and singing like a well oiled machine. This is testament to hundreds of hours of practice and rehearsal time no doubt. Second: Barton’s voice hits the mark remarkably well within the context of this catalogue. Third: this coupled with an infectious Indie rock sound and impressive songwriting will remind you of XTC, David Bowie, The Wallflowers and Better than Ezra. Barton clearly has the power and songwriting prowess to be extremely dangerous and it’s obvious to me he’s the creative genius in his own right. There’s also a unique quality to this catalogue that breaks the mold when compared to the overly predictable, forgetful rock that’s been filling the airwaves lately. What am I trying to say — well let m start by saying there is nothing predictable and forgetful about Barton. Not every square inch is filled with musical ambience delivered under duress — but musical space this allows the music to breathe on its own with musical passion that cannot be faked. The sound quality has its issues but I can show you thousands of artists with perfect sound quality that can’t stack up to Barton. Equally as impressive is how marketable Barton really is. Top tracks for me are: How Far, I Didn’t Know, The Crowd.
Musical Genera: Indie-Rock, Alternative Rock, Punk
URL: https://www.facebook.com/kenneth.barton.52
Barton (at least for me) has effectively found the voice for all frustrated Alt-Rock fans out there. “Falling Out” covers so much ground and despite this it manages to not spread itself to thin across to many lines — nicely done! This is harder to do than it sounds and can only be a by product of being ones self musically. I’ve always said if you can play it a party, then it’s marketable. The music is extremely marketable – with a raw sound that is passionate and entertaining musical personality very much like Barton himself.
Final Word: All 15 tracks will genuinely rock your world, shake the tree and lift your spirits unlike most music you hear on the radio these days. No joke!
Purchase Link – http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/barton22
Overall Rating: 4/5
by Heather Savage edited by Cyrus Rhodes
review comments: heathersavage5@gmail.com
