from Message From The Homeland
| This kid is absolutely nuts. I've listened to Ani, Meshugga, and Dillinger Escape Plan. I've reviewed dozens of technical power metal with longhaired Euros layering harmonics. Even more, he's using an acoustic guitar. The only musician who can compare to Andrew Wagner is Ember Swift but after seeing her twice I still have never heard sounds come out of a guitar the way that Andrew Wagner can do it. I've always associated the boy with the guitar as a folky singer-songwriter who plays cafes and subways but Wagner is not to be confused with the likes of any of Boston's scores of folkies, he's a guitarist first, a singer-songwriter second. Wagner finds chords that had previously never existed, exposing and exploiting them for amateur guitarists who have been playing for a year and still can't play a power chord with a consistency to admire and adore. He makes math geek rockers like Piebald sound obsolete. Thank You but our Princess is straight up guitar work with Wagner's vocals. No loops, overdubs, or fancy studio tricks. [ed: Well, except for the occasional interlude between songs.] There are also no pretentious Dashboard Confessional style lonely boy lyrics and no Elliot Smith dreaminess that makes an album great but knocks you out after fifteen minutes. Just TI-86 precise song structure and a soothing voice. Wagner grabs the listener's attention and refuses to let go until his lp is over. English professors may not be able to decipher his Merriam- Webster lyrics and musicians may not be able to decode his guitar chords but what we can do is sit back, grab a drink, and watch this young virtuoso do his thing. --David Lucander |
from delusions of adequacy
| Damn that voice sounded familiar. It took me two or three listens before I figured out what band he sounded like, and then my hunch was validated in checking Wagner's liner notes. Formerly the guitarist and singer for the math-rock band Idiot Savant Garde, it was suddenly much easier to place Wagner's unique music. See, all you have here is Wagner playing an acoustic guitar and singing, but this is not your traditional Bonnie Billy / Bob Dylan folk-influenced singer/songwriter. Instead, Wagner approaches every song as if he's still playing for an up-tempo math-rock band. Wagner plays his acoustic guitar in unique time signatures, often changing signatures throughout a song and mixing strumming chords with rapid note progression. Every time I hear a person playing acoustic guitar so quickly and precisely, I'm reminded of classical guitar, and while the chiming tones of those instruments aren't here, Wagner plays with that kind of precision. He's a phenomenal guitarist and a unique one, and coupled with his unique, warm voice, these songs transcend simple singer/songwriter definitions. The album kicks off with the instrumental "The Archduke Descends Upon Me," a song with so many rapid fire notes that it sounds almost classical. I swear there are too many guitar parts on "Mating Song of the North American Dork" for just one man, and I find myself paying little attention to Wagner's lyrics and to the guitar instead. Softer and more flowing, "Your Penmanship is Deplorable" allows things to calm down a bit, putting the vocals more to the fore, and "Paradoxing" feels a bit more familiar, with more chord progression than rapid-fire notes. But it's songs like the impressive "My Year as a Grouch" that brings everything together: intricate and strong guitar playing and Wagner's flowing vocals, that really make this an excellent album. At times, however, the songs on this, Wagner's first full-length release, do tend to sound very similar, leading me to think perhaps that he's overloaded it. By "An Allergic Reaction," what appears to be an autobiographical story, I tend to focus less on the impressive guitar and more on Wagner's voice. As if to remind you, he spreads various intricate instrumentals throughout the album, and they sound not so much like acoustic noodling as classically themed works. There are still the more rock-sounding tracks, like "To Sweat the Synapse" and "Do the Staccato." As on the Idiot Savant Garde album I reviewed, there is a feeling here that the style of music is more than simply complicated math-rock. It's almost as if Wagner is embracing a kind of nerdiness that leads him to lyrics like "manipulating the etch-a-sketch, amortizing the penny- a-liner, hammering out new identifiers until you've explained that person into your lexicon" from "Your Penmanship is Deplorable" and "measure for measure, this music permeates through stale vacuum-sour air, a path of entropy and dissonance dispersed to dissidents who've long since spat on radios" from "To Sweat the Synapse." There's no apology for his verbose nature, which matches his verbose guitarwork. It appears that Wagner is formulating his own sub-genre, and it's one that bears repeated listens, if not for his complex lyrics, than for his intricate, impressive guitar playing. -- Jeff Marsh |
from Splendid E-Zine
| On this, his first full-length without Holy Mary, Mother of Bert, Wagner offers a hour's worth of acoustic nerd-rock gold. His guitar playing is cunning and inventive, his lyrics are full of clever word play and his singing is full of exuberance. If you've ever thought that Weezer or Barenaked Ladies have a couple of good songs, you owe it to yourself to check out Thank You... -- assuming that the title's Super Mario Brothers reference wasn't enough to hook you. For example, take "Mating Song of the North American Dork", which opens with stuttering, muted guitar strumming before the main theme begins. Filled with life, this delightful song makes me ache in the same way I do when I see a nice yet less-than-suave guy approach his lady love; I know he is too odd to successfully woo her, yet at the same time he is so damn earnest I can't help but root for him. This song makes me feel the same way about Wagner. He sounds so damn quirky and pleasant that I can't help but root for this underdog. After a couple of tracks, you'll feel the same way, as time and again he appeals to your inner nerd. -- Ron Davies |
from Northeast Performer
| On Thank You., Andrew Wagner displays the sort of instrumental skill that can only be commended, and commended loudly. His lightning-fast picking and equally deft harmonics are enough to leave most guitarists looking on in slack-jawed amazement. Lest the reader get the impression that this record is just 61 minutes of acoustic wank, it bears emphasis that sweet chops are by no means Wagner's only talent. Indeed, one could randomly pick any song off of this record to hear him transition seamlessly between seemingly incommensurable time-signatures. The rhythmic and dynamic ranges that he spans from one measure to the next are as big as circus tents, with just as much going on inside of them. Would that Wagner's vocal skills displayed even half of the virtuosity he shows with his guitar. Most of this record flies along at breakneck speeds, and Wagner's vocals match the frenetic pace of the guitar parts without conveying hardly any of their intensity. The thing that makes "Do the Staccato" the album's standout track is the fact that it's really the only time on the record where Wagner lets his voice reach a hearty scream, thereby breaking the mid-range monotony displayed in the rest of his vocal performace. This isn't to say that the vocals are bad, they just don't add anything to the already very enganging instrumental parts. On most of the album, the vocals only serve to distract the listener from what's really interesting. Still, it should be clear that there is much on this record to be enjoyed. The lyrics are enough to warm the heart of any geek. The interest of any listener who has taken more than a beginning course in Calculus will most certainly be piqued by the fact that Wagner uses the word "osculate." And, of course, the album's title will tug insistently at the heartstrings of those of us who came of age in the Nintendo generation. --Matt Henry |
from NCA Empire
| Andrew Wagner is amazing. Words can not even begin to describe what this CD will do for you. It starts with an only musical song, then moves into thirteen more songs filled with words... And boy are there words. Where as most songs will have a few catchy lines carefully placed here and there, the words in one of these songs seem to almost make up a band's whole CD worth of words! You must go through and read these words, though it may take you a while. Musically, Andrew Wagner is a man and his guitar. Now I know you may have ideas of Dashboard Confessional in your head, but get them out right now. This is nothing like that. This is far better. Where as you'll find these short catchy chords with Dashboard songs, there are actually precisely structured songs, that take you note-by-note through an adventure you'll never forget. He also sings in a style much unlike Chris of Dashboard's style. It's not as high pitched and sometimes whiney... Andrew Wagner's singing is more of a deep, empowering rhythm that will suck you in and almost hypnotize you. By the time you reach the end of this CD, you will flat out witness Andrew Wagner screaming, and it will be the culmination of nothing like you ever could have expected. Not to mention that by the end you will also want to start this CD again and go back to find all of the stuff you most likely missed the first time around. -- Josh Nacho |
from minor 7th
| Many are the guitar virtuosos who lose themselves in self-absorption and technical showmanship. Then there's Andrew Wagner, a master player with a sense of humor, intellect, and a penchant for compiling melody upon melody. A self-proclaimed "math geek", overtly proud of his inner child, Wagner addresses his observations of the human condition with surrealistic word- play and a myriad of guitar styles fused into compositions that read like novelettes. Wagner tosses out multiple hammer-ons, harmonics, arpeggios, inverted guitar voicings, and every known rhythmic device to get his point across with measured reckless abandon, even going as far as to forge trippy backwards tape-loops on the intro to "Your Penmanship Is Deplorable" and the bridge of "The Glass Engine Room." A must for acoustic guitar aficionados of all ages. --Tom Semioli |
from Muses' Muse
| Funny that the first sentence in the promotion letter sent to me says "Make no mistake about it. This is not a folk record." Yes it is. And a real nice one at that. Man oh man can this guy play guitar! As if his fine chops wouldn't be obvious throughtout the disc, the album opens with the instrumental "the archduke descends upon me." Following this opener is the folky "mating song of the north american dork" in which Wagner sings "puzzle math, play it intricate, take the shortest path if the algorithm fits this amorous synthesis, the sweet symmetry of this."While it may seem a bit verbose, it also seems to fit his playing. These aren't those standard 3 minute pop songs you'd hear on the radio. This is folk music folks, and what I enjoy so much about this is that each song is it's own puzzle. With each listen you can hear a bit more, understand a bit more, and conjure up your own images of the stories in each song. I find I ask the same questions in Wagner's music as I have many times in listening to Tori Amos. Is Wagner being puzzling simply to be puzzling or is it really cool? I have derived the same conclusion as I did with Tori, I just don't know. Often when hearing a guitar/vocal album one hears other instruments and how they can complement the music. With Wagner's playing, you don't really miss other instruments, his playing really complements his compositions and leaves you feeling satisfied sans rhythm section. My favorite listen here is the contemplative sounds of "coriolis waters, spiral stairs." This being one of the 3 instrumental tunes on the CD, one feels the full journey on this tune -- a beginning, middle and end through a wonderful song cycle. Throughout this disc, his playing is of expert level, and his voice is inquisitive and vulnerable. Overall, this is definitely interesting stuff to listen to. --Eliot Popkin |
from agoutimusic.com
| This is the first solo acoustic album I've ever reviewed. I am very impressed with Andrew Wagner. I've played many instruments in my life, but the one I've never tried is the guitar. After listening to this album, it makes me wonder why I haven't tried to learn this instrument and maybe one day be as good as him. The first track on this album is completely instrumental. I personally think he put it on first to show his technique. It is pretty amazing. Most guitarists I've heard don't even come close to the technicality and detail that Andrew Wagner has put into this one track. The tracks following the first show off not only his technical playing ability but his vocals and songwriting. It took me a few tracks to get adjusted to the vocals being on top of his guitar. It was almost as if the guitar playing was too detailed and taking away from his vocals, making them hard to understand at times. But after a few listens, that problem seemed to disappear. Overall, I really enjoyed Thank You But Our Princess Is In Another Castle. The entire album seems to flow from one song to the next. I also enjoyed the fact that it is a completely solo album. If you've never owned or listened to a solo acoustic album, I highly suggest this one. I can't get over what an amazing guitar player this man is, and he just tops it off with some truly amazing vocals. -- Christian |
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