David Seume - It Is What It Is
Review
Photo by James Exley.
David Seume released his debut recording It Is What It Is last year on his label Grassland Records. Attentive to detail with the packaging, musicianship, and recording of eleven original songs, Seume (pronounced sue me) is bound to make an impression on audiences near and far.
Smiling Wolf, a design firm based in the United Kingdom, created the slick CD package design and snazzy website (www.davidseume.com), featuring eye-catching photography and bold typography on the cover, inside panels, and liner notes. Seume, who lived in Chicago and the Netherlands and has roots in Kansas City, appears confident in portrait as he stares into the camera with his head cocked at a slight tilt. No doubt about it, he’s a good-looking dude. To his credit, Seume backs up appearances with a batch of well-crafted pop songs that are a showcase for his music and vocal talent.
Seume performs guitars, electric bass, piano, keyboards, trumpet, and percussion on this recording. This panoply of instruments performed by one person on a solo project can be indulgent and ill fated in lesser hands. In Seume’s case, he exercises skill and restraint as musician, producer, and primary mixer on these tracks. Kudos goes to Tom Wagner at Underground Sound in Lawrence, Kansas, who mastered the recording and helps the artist achieve a vibrant pop backdrop that is bright and clean overall, tattered at the edges when necessary, or crisp and clear as the songwriter dictates.
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dinger43 11:11:10 PM - Monday, February 9, 2009
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