PUBLISHED: Mar 12, 2010
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BALCONYTV DUBLIN 12/03/2010
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n 2007 they released their first album, Sky Pointing, recorded live over three days and mixed in Nashville by David Ferguson, known for his work with Rick Rubin on the American Recordings of Johnny Cash.
That first CD of the GWB marked a point of departure for future recordings: a clean and powerful acoustic concept in which each of the four members Garrett Wall (guitar/piano/voice), Howard Brown (trumpet/voice), Robbie K. Jones (cajón) and Dave Mooney (bass/double bass) form a cornerstone in the foundation of the groups sound.
The GWBs sophomore effort, Hands & Imperfections, stays true to the groups identity: trumpet where electric guitar would be typical and cajón instead of drums. The clearest addition to the sound is the Fender Rhodes & piano work throughout the album and Daves booming double bass in The Ballad of an Exorcism and Worst Case Scenario. Howards voice plays a bigger role and he contributes a piano solo piece. Robbie uses more cymbals and percussion to complement the cajón and one track uses simple, but driving, foot stomps, clicks and claps.
Another notable development is found in select collaborations. The first single, Is There No Freedom?, features a duet between Garrett and the female voice of Lua, the lead singer of the Spanish band We Are Balboa. Never give all the Heart closes the album with the pretty-picking American mandolin great Tom Corbett.
The key collaboration however is the work of producer Josh Tampico whose hand in the recording and direction of the album helped the GWB capture a sound that is very much their own: an international reaching band with roots in Madrid. While the four members are from Ireland, the UK and the USA - the use of palmas in The Ballad of an Exorcism gives evidence of the GWBs life in Spain.
Wall continues to write and sing for cinema and TV in Spain and was recently invited to perform the closing-titles song to movie Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds, which has been the big hit at Sundance this year.
Hands & Imperfections is released on Mondegreen Records and is distributed through Reekus Records in Ireland. www.mondegreenrecords.com
http://www.garrettwall.net/
http://www.myspace.com/garrettwall
Tune in again tomorrow!!!
