Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager, The - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly > Reviews > So This One's For The Friends

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	A decent debut album that mixes Folk and rock superbly
Disadvantages:	He still hasn't got the radio play he deserves

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

It seems almost criminal that Sam Duckworth, aka Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, seems to have passed so many people by. The singer songwriter from Southend is an incredible talent and this, his debut album, only serves to further that boast. His name seems to have been all over the musical press since the release of Chronicles of A Bohemian Teenager and from the first listen it isn’t exactly hard to see why he is garnishing such a reputation. In truth since the release of the album back in September 2006, he should really have gotten more radio play.

With a wide range of influences from the likes of Lemon Jelly and Blur to At The Drive In, Duckworth draws his influences from a wide range of genres. With the debut album recorded in his Southend bedroom the success he seems to be on the verge of is quite an achievement. Having taken his bands name from a Computer game magazine it adds to the mystery around the band and with such an unusual name, ensures he will be an artist you won’t forget in a hurry.

A range of influences that diverse and with a list of favourite bands that include Green Day and Athlete it was a safe bet that GCWCF were going to be a band I’d like. I personally came across them during Reading festival last year and since then I became a big fan of Duckworth. His own unique blend of Indie Folk Rock really seems to appeal to me and in particular it’s the fusion of slow mellow tracks with decent beats and quicker paced tracks. There is something about the album that makes it seem far more appealing than fellow singer songwriters like James Blunt.

From a musical standpoint this is a simply breathtaking album. He gets the balance of upbeat numbers and nice mellow, meandering tracks just right. Duckworth himself leads all the tracks on the album with the acoustic guitar and called in the help of a few session musicians to help him with drumbeats, Violins and cello’s. The album has a real variety of instruments on it and this also merges together well to create quite a unique sound for GCWCF. It all forges together and creates a relaxed feel to the album, whether it be on the more mellow tracks or those with a faster pace.

I feel though that Duckworth deserves the most praise however for his vocal range and the quality of his lyrics. While the musical element to GCWCF is spot on the album would have lost a lot of its appeal had it not been for Duckworth’s vocal range. He emotes a number of harmonies that really bring his songs to life and his vocals never sound stretched, in fact on certain tracks the vocals are pretty soothing and relaxing. The lyrics also portray a sense of confidence from Duckworth and you can tell from the feeling on each track that it really means something to him and his music is a good way for him to express his feelings.

It wasn’t love at first listen for the whole album, there were a couple of tracks that took there time to really grow on me. They have however all really grown on me now and GCWCF’s album will no doubt get a lot of time on my stereo, especially on a sunny day. The main appeal of Duckworth’s music is the easy going feel to the album and this is particularly evident on the upbeat “Call Me Ishmael”. The pace of the track is quite quick and really makes the song pass quickly, but when ever I listen to it I always find myself drifting off a little and starting to daydream.

My own favourite track on the album would have to be “Chronicles of A Bohemian Teenager Part 1”. It sounds slightly different to the rest of the album. Duckworth’s lyrics take on a different approach but the upbeat pace and gentle vocals are the perfect way to finish the album. With a lot of singer songwriters I do find a few of the tracks on their albums to be simply there to fill the 10 or 12 tracks. This debut album from Duckworth seems to offer a little more than that. The quality is there to see from the first track and with his easy listening approach makes the debut album from Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly to be compulsive listening.

Overall if I was asked to recommend this album would I? After all there is quite a wealth of singer songwriters about at the moment. My answer though would be a resounding Yes. In my opinion Duckworth offers something that artists such as James Blunt and Morrison don’t. His music sounds quite mellow and relaxed, but the blend of more up tempo tracks creates Duckworth a sound of his own. If you like Folk music, Indie and even Pop music there is a good chance that this will appeal to you as well. My last word on this album would be to watch out for Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly as I think there are really big things to come from Duckworth in the future.

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