Archer Prewitt
Wilderness

Archer Prewitt is another pleasant surprise of 2005, which has already given us other noteworthy works like the splendid CD by Eels or the debut of Willy Mason.

Wilderness is the fourth solo work by Archer Prewitt, a former cartoonist (he designed this gorgeous cover) and also a former guitarist of the Coctails and Sea & The Cake. The album somewhat follows the trend, very popular in recent times, of male singer-songwriters who draw heavily from the sounds of some greats of music, like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, or Nick Drake. These and many others have been and continue to be a source of great inspiration for much contemporary music, which is increasingly leaning towards imitative rather than creative positions. Nonetheless, this does not detract from the quality of many works in this singer-songwriter trend, like the aforementioned Willy Mason or also Josh Rouse or Ray Lamontagne (I recommend checking out these names) and many others.

Wilderness is also part of this musical circle and has positively surprised me for the strongly melancholic character that emerges from its songs and for the quality of the arrangements that complete the CD without making it too heavy. The album is divided between two complementary souls, one more complex that recalls recent artists like Elliott Smith or Maximilian Hecker, and another more acoustic that follows artists like Nick Drake, obviously with the necessary comparisons.
Notable are some tracks worthy of mention like Way of the Sun; Leaders; O.K.Y.; Go Away and many others.

Far from being a masterpiece, Wilderness is nonetheless a pleasant album and I recommend it (along with other albums already mentioned in the review) to those who, like me, love acoustic and melancholic sounds.