Rocky Votolato’s Makers is pure, stripped of the busy sound of today’s music. It is Rocky and his guitar with a little harmonica thrown in. Perhaps it was his move to Barsuk from Second Nature, but Rocky definitely got it right on this album.
Rocky’s voice is soothing, begging you to listen to his poetic lyrics. He wants to sing to you, to mesmerize you with his words. That isn’t very hard for Votolato to accomplish as his songwriting skills are at a level that many singer/songwriters can only dream to achieve. His guitar is hypnotizing and lures you in even further, until you reach a depth not often found in today’s music.
Rocky Votolato lets his Texan roots shine through, but not in the annoying country rock kind of way. It is pure folk, but not the kind that makes you want to pull out a fiddle and clap along. It is the kind of music that speaks to your heart without making you feel as though you’ve been taken advantage of. Makers embraces you with a rawness that makes you feel real and lives in the line between realism and idealism.
Never heard of Rocky Votolato? That is ok. If you like Iron and Wine, Elliot Smith, or Nick Drake you will enjoy this great album to start off your new year January 24, 2006. Or you can just check out the first track on the record, White Daisy Passing, available from Barsuk Records.
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