Chris Garneau - El Radio (2009)

Chris Garneau's second album grabs listeners and drags them along on a strangely upbeat, yet melancholy tour of his childhood memories and philosophical musings, which, at different points, feels like a Broadway show, a folky campfire story, a frantic circus, and a rowdy cabaret performance. Garneau continually bounces between the simple and grandiose as his songs begin with his gentle, honest voice and a few piano chords and then evolve into climaxes of horn sections, cymbals, and hand clapping. His unique sense of orchestration, airy vocals, and the concept-album organization of the 12 songs into groups according to the four seasons immediately call Sufjan Stevens to mind, but Garneau's eclectic musical influences and fairytale-like lyrics are wholly his own. Though El Radio sometimes borders on the overly maudlin, it succeeds in coming across as strikingly honest and moving.

If you have a hard time crying or feeling anything in the recent past, I assure you that after you listen to Garneau's lyrics and soulful voice, you will definitely feel again --Fabrika