Wandering in the valley of music genres, Calum Ingram forged The Man, an intimate and musically polished album. Review.
THE MAN – CALUM INGRAM
The Man is way more personal for Calum Ingram than its funk-infused notes would let appear at first. Indeed, it opens with the song giving its name to the whole thing, The Man, and under a shower of riffs, blues at first and incredibly funk later on. The synths subtly add to it all, along with those warm and smooth vocals. On the dancefloor, Calum Ingram asks himself too many questions about what he is and what others want from him. To me, it’s the contrast lyrics/sound that really announces the quality of this record. And it’s only confirmed with Burn It Down, and some more aggressive riffs through this contagious crossing-genres energy. It even goes up to the wonderful solo turned outro of the song.
But Calum Ingram also knows how to create softness. The classic strings on his duet with Michael G. Ronstadt on Cup of Urafain are lively, epic and yet delicate. Ingram stays delicate later on How You Move Me with some strong blues inclinations surrounding its pop core. Between them, Show Me the Way, is a true banger with unhinged energy, marrying organ and electric cello perfectly for a duel of hard rock and blues from another world. Michael G. Ronstadt comes back on the deep and curious Around Us, that I placed in my favourites of the record.
Mastering his instruments (from classic and electric cello to guitar and keys) is impressive, to say the least. To me, it’s also one of the greatest specificities of this album, as much as the blend of genres. A dash of jazz on Blame is another example of the mastery of these specificities. Pop is back on Small Hours and, it’s soul that grasps the heart of Strong and Alone. Last, but not least, Japan ends it all as a rock song with melancholic undertones. I loved it. The sense of each track means a lot to the author, and we can feel him placing his heart and passion in each of them. With fluid and harmonious arrangements, from classical music to electro, Calum Ingram has made of The Man an incredibly refined and rich record that will satisfy many music lovers.
