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Chad VanGaalen
Chad VanGaalen
Buy It Now: Soft Airplane

Soft Airplane

Rating: 8.8  |  0 User Reviews  |  Send to Friend

By Michael Feldman

Chad VanGaalen is what you might call a modern-day Renaissance Man. Not only does he write great pop songs, but he also illustrates his own album covers and animates his own music videos. On his newest release Soft Airplane, he creates metaphorical tales that alternate between strength and fragility. From the spacious and melancholic opener “Willow Tree” to the bold, Fleetwood Mac-esque rocker “Bare Feet on Wet Griptape,” VanGaalen comes across more confident than any of his previous efforts. There are also moments of other-worldliness as heard on “TMNT Mask,” which sounds like early Neil Young performing with a small army of circus robots. “Molten Light,” a tale of folk and folklore, may be the oddest of the bunch as VanGaalen gently, yet chillingly depicts an indestructible monster that will “find you and kill you.” Soft Airplane is certainly difficult to pigeonhole into one genre and that is what makes it so enjoyable. Like the true artist that he is VanGaalen is more interested in painting pictures than being painted into a corner. (Sub Pop)

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