W.C. Beck - First Flight
W.C. BECK TAKES OFF ON ‘FIRST FLIGHT’
Brooklyn-based folk singer and multi-instrumentalist W.C. Beck drops his new album, First Flight, today. First Flight is Beck’s first new music since Sapling, Kansawer, and Quivira, released while Beck was in Portland, Oregon.
W.C. Beck | Photo: Nehemiah Sliwoski
His ninth studio album, First Flight was produced by Myles Turney and Joel Arnow and recorded in a variety of locations in New York. This new album finds Beck exploring soundscapes full of far-reaching emotions attended by rich arrangements, and intense warmth.
Residing in Portland and touring with The Portland Country Underground, Blue Giant, Bobby Bare, Jr., and Quiet Life, and sharing the stage with The Dandy Warhols and The Decemberists, Beck made the choice to return to grad school. While studying in Paris, Beck composed most of the songs that would become First Flight. Completing his studies, Beck moved to New York, and began performing, which is where he hooked up with Justin Wilcox, forming Monteagle and releasing Midnight Noon.
During the interval between Midnight Noon and First Flight, Beck toured and performed constantly, influencing the brimming sound on First Flight.
The step-down flow of the chorus infuses the music with rippling tiers of harmonics, smooth and oh, so gorgeous.
The album encompasses 10-tracks. Entry points include “Steel Bird,” a tasty, gleaming gem of an alt-country tune full of creamy guitars and a sparkling piano. I love Beck’s evocative, twang-inflected voice, rich and just a little reedy.
“The Long Way Home” opens on a bluesy, gospel-flavored melody with a deliciously oozing organ. When Beck’s gentle voice enters, the tune takes on nostalgic savors. The step-down flow of the chorus infuses the music with rippling tiers of harmonics, smooth and oh, so gorgeous.
“Powder Blue” starts off on trembling guitar riffs, followed by a slow swell of the harmonics, and then takes off on a potent melody reminiscent of Jackson Browne, more countrified than Browne, but exuding the same infectious magnetism.
“Among The Waves” features an emerging organ intro, and kicks into a sleek, silky country-rock melody that’s low-slung and mesmerizing. The interplay between the piano and the glittering guitar is especially wonderful, giving the music radiant sinew.
First Flight is excellent, full of shining alt-country energy, polished instrumentation, and the delectable voice of W.C. Beck.
