Brent Gorton

When you listen to Brent Gorton, you may mistakenly believe he's a part of the Elephant 6 cabal. Lots of lo-fi fuzz and layered pop However, rather than hailing from Athens, Gorton is the man about town in Albany, NY.

I was going to write a full post on Gorton but then I got an email from Greg at Pages Within. I had shared a few tracks from Brent Gorton's new self-titled album with Greg a few days ago and he came back with this crackerjack of a review:

Thanks for sending along those Brent Gorton tracks. I had a chance to listen to them, and mostly I really like them. I particularly enjoy Cuddlecore. I was sitting here trying to figure out why it sounded so familiar, and then I realized that it sounded a bit like Matthew Sweet, only with a more folk-fuzz edge to it, like Neutral Milk Hotel. Not a bad combination at all.

As far as "That Photograph" goes, I thought it a little weird at first, but it's definitely growing on me. I particularly like the turn the song takes when he sings "so there's no need to get a little sentimental, yeah..." it's like he's drawing the melody out longer than you might expect, which makes the song stand out for me and keeps me wanting to listen.

I guess if there was any criticism, it would be that the songs are a little too simple. I kinda feel like don't expect too much at all from the listener. That might annoy some people, but I've really grown to appreciate a song that sounds like it was put together in an hour or so. There's a real craft in doing that. I'd just like to hear more of what he has to offer.

Well said. I have nothing more to add.

Brent Gorton | Cuddlecore
Brent Gorton | That Photograph