Album Review: Brady Enslen - Beautiful Things
By Raven Hughes, Contributor
[Self-released; 2015]
Rating: 4/5
Key Tracks: "Beautiful Things," "Lonesome Winds," "End of A Page"
Despite not growing up in America, Brady Enslen knows very well how scrumptious Carolina Apple Pie, Texas Toast, Waffle House and BBQ Pits can be, and understands the nature of Georgians’ grace. Aggies will appreciate the Alberta-raised, artist’s homefront on “The Hawks Eye.”
“You can see the farmer is plowing steady, redneck working of the land / Patiently waiting for the harvest, putting food into my hands.” On his debut album Beautiful Things, written in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Enslen pays homage to the cultural and environmental diversity of North America.
Enslen begins with “Drive,” echoing the very American ideal to go “on the road” and “see America first” after tiring from going through the motions of everyday life, travel being the ultimate way to lose yourself and find your key to paradise. But his song “End of a Page” has enough spunk for GEICO to use for their next commercial, even powerful enough that Roy Orbison could cover the song via a Coachella hologram in 2016. Rockers who may favor an Incubus adaptation of “Drive” may not convert to Americana subscribers, but will not be able to deny the powerful lyrics--the desire to wander and chase the light before it fades transcends genres.
In the essence of Enslen, seeking his salvation of solitude again, he does not shy away from the historical battle grounds which America was built upon. “Rolling hills where bison were, blood was spilled and wars were fought / There’s a better way the Preacher taught, people were sold and people were bought.” “Lonesome Winds” illuminates Enslen’s frustration with urban centers. “Steel rails and boxcar trains / Currency and live stock raised / Industry and man for hire / Try to picture this land without barbed wire.”
Enslen chooses a lake for Beautiful Things' cover as he favors the simple. The only thing Brady Enslen needs to change to capture the modern woman entirely is offer mama the whiskey in “No Whiskey For Mama” because she may need it the most after the boys are done firing at the moon.
