Andrew Belle is one of my favorite new finds of the year. There’s something soothing about his melancholy voice that has me enamored with this new set of songs. Tracks from this album found their way to me when resident Nashville start-up, Brite Revolution, signed Andrew on as one of their featured Emerging Artists. Andrew then released demos from The Ladder each month as part of the subscription service. Lucky for me, these songs were on my iPod and in my ears just before I stepped on the plane for London.Static Waves (MP3) - Andrew Belle
This particular album got to me because it’s packed with little surprises and it adapts to each setting it’s placed in. For instance, I walked around Trafalgar Square with “Static Waves” and “I’ll Be Your Breeze” buzzing, and wasn’t distracted by overproduction or driving bass beats. Instead, it enjoyed the slow discovery of the British streets just as much as I did, progressing as casually as my steps did. Still, late at night in my dorm, it would be just me and those same songs, except this time the lyrics were alive and working in my head. They were smart and effortlessly romantic. It seems like each new time I revisit this collection, a new line catches my attention and my reverence.
This CD makes me proud of my city, that it could capture the heart of a fledgling songwriter like Andrew and help him find a creative community that could document his wonderful sound and fully embrace his craft. Andrew joined the Ten out of Tenn tour almost as soon as he made his way to Nashville. And I must say that pairing of Andrew Belle and Nashville has done wonders for my heart.
As Drew's dad, I could not agree with you more, ha! It's been awesome to watch him get better and better. I love the way you described the songs changing depending on where you were. Me too! To take that thought one extra step...take just one song from his cd The Ladder, "Oh my stars". That song changes depending on if it's him playing solo, or a quicker louder version with his band, or a slower romantic version, like on the album...and I love all 3! I can tell you that his parents, sisters and grandparents are his biggest fans!! We are driving to Nashville this weekend to catch him and the last TOT show. It will be one of those Priceless commercials for sure! ~Rick
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