Grace From Gadgets is a collection of songs pouring out of the heart and brain of one single artist from Texas. He literally does it all on the record. But prefers to keep himself in the background.
“My stage name as producer is ned nefarius. You can use that,” he tells me in an exchange of messages via Instagram. Ned’s songwriter, arranger, performer, mixer, master, and producer.
It’s not often that I hit play on the first song of an LP from an unknown artist and listen to the entire set without stopping. Yet that’s how it played out as “Grace From Gadgets” hit my ears. The whole thing coming across as earnest, playful, creative, diverse and multilayered. The man behind the machine has something to say and the gift of being able to communicate it.
Ned’s voice works within the structure of each composition. Who better to sing with an innate understanding of the mission of each song? Sometimes sounding untouched, other times clearly sent through a few filters to fit the tune.
For the final track, pardon me if I got a lump in my throat when Ned stripped things down a bit — and found a full vocal presence that lifts “Negative Spaces” above and beyond.
Other favorites include the opener “Buried In The Air,” which dabbles with some R.E.M.-esque guitar plucks, and “South of Low,” which seems to borrow a throbbing riff out of Heart’s “Magic Man.” Must also mention the dual speaker duel of voices in the haunting, beautiful “On A Summer Day.” I though of The Green Pajamas and Jeff Kelly during the violin sounds on “Our Little Town.”
Really, pick any tune. They are all well conceived, produced and delivered. It’s Mystery, Melody and Magic from Ned’s brain to yours. Grace From Gadgets arrives as a beautiful, unexpected gift.
Ned knows what he’s doing here, and I love it when a singular vision survives the industrial wasteland of the record industry and arrives unchanged from the artist’s noggin.
“Gadgets” have in fact, enabled the creation of this album”, and allowed me to get out of the way and let the universe whisper in my ear, in my sleeping mind, these little stories set to music – and the grace to be able to share it with you, that unmerited divine assistance given to us when we can be quiet enough to listen, and humble enough not to step on it. —Ned
https://gracefromgadgets.bandcamp.com/releases
Another ‘Ned’ is coming soon. “I have projects on the way and want them to stand on their own,” he says. So new songs will be credited to ‘new bands.’
“The next one (Sept 9) is called “Tipper Bootsale and The New Nine-Tenths”. Those songs were written and recorded along with Grace From Gadgets,” Ned says, “but were more electronic (and more fun, frankly) so I invented a new fake band and split the catalog.”
That’s a lot of music to be sitting on, and then suddenly unleash via Distrokid. “Mad I guess, to release two albums at the same time,” Ned says. “I had lots of advice as to releasing singles and never albums. But all of it was finished, so…yeah.”
LINK: https://www.instagram.com/gracefromgadgets.arts/
UNCLE EARS is a music blog written by David Falk. davidrfalk@gmail.com David was born in 1962 and gravitates towards melodies, adventure, unsigned artists, fresh discoveries. He trusts his ear to know what it likes and loves sharing what he finds. He lives near Seattle, WA, USA.
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