RATING: 8/10
After touring earlier this year with his band, Circa Survive, and attributing to the long awaited Saosin album, vocalist, Anthony Green is long away from taking a split second to watch it all happen. The 33 year old dad is no stranger to the acoustic scene, dating back to his first solo album released in 2008 and onward, he has now released his fourth studio album, Pixie Queen (2016), distributed through his record label, Memory Music. With help from his friend and producer, Will Yip, the album was released on September 9th but was available for streaming via Music Memory’s Soundcloud on August 31, 2016. The following album contains eleven tracks that explore the meaning of marriage, hope and redemption. Dedicated proudly to his wife as she is on the front of the album cover sitting behind a campfire, the record out shines among his previous records as it contains more traditional acoustic songs. Green presents a vulnerable cast through the album, as he looks back into an earlier period of his life as well as reflecting on his current situation, focusing on his family life. The young Pennsylvanian is known for his colorful and metaphorical lyricism about life on Circa Survive albums but this album restrains from his precedent style to a straighter forward and blunt form of lyrics about his family. The record flows between bubbly tunes to some hard hitting emotional songs. Songs that have prominence in the album are, “Will It Be”, the third track on the album which is about Green’s insecurities about becoming a father, understanding what it means to be a father and the longing to see his children while being away on the road. The song creates a level of connection with listeners and fans that have children or are about to. “Dawn on The Canal” the sixth track on the album, is contrast between the songs on the album as it has a strong instrumental presence with tribal drumming as well as eerie guitar-ing and vocals, a definite highlight of what makes this album so uniquely Green.
The singer/songwriter has truly mastered his craft in songwriting as the record is highly prolific. He provides a humbling truth about marriage and fatherhood in eleven tracks. The frontman of both post hardcore bands, Circa Survive and Saosin is currently on tour with Mat Kerekes, catch him on “The Pixie Queen Tour” right now!
