Andy Nolte – Tied To A String

Andy Nolte – Tied To A String

REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/AndrewNolte

Tied To A String, by Andy Nolte is replete with lighthearted piano and vocals, but it’s the thunderous string arrangements that take it over the top and make it an overall progressive release. Otherwise, the music and over all concept are loosely based in rock and jazz, with some pop inflections and a balladeering direction. The songs aren’t all ballads, but most of them follow that speed and tempo with the exception-of a few which stand out as the more energetic and less serious numbers in the mix on what is an overall delightful listening experience for fans of both the serious and not-so serious variety.

“Europa Tide” kicks the album off with a very quirky and spacy opener with all the bells and whistles to be found in one single track on the album. It’s like landing on a frozen planet and describing the tides around you. The stories to be told on the album start with this one, which is easier to define in that aspect than most of the following tracks. Underneath the slow piano grooving there’s some cool synth work that lingers, but from the center of the track onward it becomes increasingly intense and that is where most of the magic lays, preparing you for the rest of the ride.

“Kiss Me” is probably the most stripped back song on the album, and it holds its own somewhere between that and the more upscale arrangements on offer. It’s simply a case of cleverly placing a completely different song early in the collection with Nolte at his wittiest but also not his most serious moment on the album. This is just very traditional in every way, unlike the next track, “L.A. Can Wait” with its much less serious approach about throwing ideas around town in just a couple of hours of getting together for a visit somewhere besides Los Angeles.

“Tied To A String” comes next at just the right time for something more seriously intended by Nolte, which the title track usually brings to any album. This can be followed either on its own or in its leading fashion on the album and come out a single or simply an album track. The point is that it works no matter how you find it on both levels and it positions the next track up very well. “How Can I” is one of the album’s most enjoyable cuts with its very soothing delivery. This is where Nolte and his songs get undeniably awesome, especially if you’re taking this great album in altogether thus far.

“Take A Trip” falls somewhere between the previous two tracks, but never exceeding them, instead it’s on par with them although the three have nothing lyrically in common but do musically bode well together. This track gets downright gospel at times to mark the stark difference it makes between them, and that’s a compliment to the whole written, produced and arranged album. “These Days” and “Safe In My Dreams” help even out the efforts to weave these complex arrangements together with each track standing on its own feet within the bunch, yet play so well as a concept together. But Nolte may have artistically placed the final track “Synecdoche” as the sleeper of the album, so don’t miss how it sets the album up to seamlessly play again.

MY SPACE: https://myspace.com/andynolte1

Mindy McCall