Zac Bauman - 2017 - Bell Jar

(66:00; Zac Bauman)

I have searched through my records and have no idea why I have an album from 2017 on my review list, and cannot find any information on this in my files whatsoever which is a real shame as this is a definite find. Looking on Zac’s FB page I can see he describes himself as a “multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer specializing in fingerstyle guitar and baroque pop”. This album is pretty much a totally solo release apart from trumpet/trombone on five tracks by Joe Espena, a guitar solo by Doug Shernock on one and some female backing vocals on two. This is very much an album out of time, as there is nothing on here that feels more recent than the mid Seventies, and while he is obviously heavily influenced by Ian Anderson there are also some stylings which are more in common with Gryphon, while he also puts in plenty of eclectic ideas which remind me somewhat of Captain of the Lost Waves.

Music like this is not supposed to exist in this day and age, where musicality often seems to be overlooked and celebrity celebrated, but at the heart of all these songs is a wonderful songwriter who shares his wares, with an acoustic instrument at the heart of each which sometimes is a mandolin, others a ukelele and others a guitar. 14 songs, a running time of some 66 minutes, with just song with “blues” in the title and two with “rag” (and do I hear a Jew’s harp playing?) this is an album out of time. I have no idea how this album came to be in my possession, but I do know that my life is richer for having heard it. Zac only has one other album listed on his Bandcamp page, ‘Omnia Onera’ from 2009, so let us hope there is another one due out soon as this is a delight from beginning to end and should be heard by anyone who enjoys music from the old school where there was no need to fit into a plastic pigeon hole.

Kev Rowland, June 2024

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/zacbaumanmusic