Leland Sundries – Music for Outcasts (L’Echiquier Records, 2016)

Arriving at my door wrapped in a stylishly artistic retro album jacket, the Leland Sundres album Music For Outcasts was then wrapped in a white sheet of paper, on which were dozens of lame half considered and lightly thought out reviews such as, “Oddball storytelling,” “Excellent,” “All eleven tracks show glimpses of a future masterful storyteller …,” and of course my personal favorite “Snappy.” These semi-reviews then go on to list artists of similar ilk without any serious insight as to the decade and century we live in, or the music that’s actually presented here.

If I were to make comparisons, at the top of my list would be Stan Ridgway, The Explorers Club, and of course The Figgs. And if anything at all stood out for me that actually hinted at what was being presented here, it would be the liner notes list of “Special Thanks” that compiles a virtual who’s who of the arts.

Music For Outcasts is a stunning rendition that gathers up the best of modern rock and delivers it just in time for some serious topdown summer boardwalk fun. These songs have rambled though my head for nearly my entire life, but it took Nick Loss-Eaton to bring them into fruition, to remind me how I felt when I road the bus and saw my first neck tattoo, or how life is a series of observations strung together, with the talent being, that an artist and band are able to connect the dots, draw back the curtain, and give you that ah-ha moment of recognition. This is intimate personal lively music, where if you’re lucky enough to see the boys live, you’ll find yourself pointing back at them laughing, as if to say, “Yeah … I know just what you mean.”

Music For Outcasts is a keeper, it’s an album that rides low in your back pocket, an album that unveils more with each listen … and I for one hope to continue finding dot’s to connect, and the secret insights that Nick has tucked away.

Review by Jenell Kesler/2016

© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2016