LOS ANGELES, CA- UK recording artist Tom Forest is a collaboration between British singer/guitarist Tom Gracefield and his wife. writer/producer Isabel Gracefield and their debut album, “Hope”, is scheduled for released on January 12, 2018. I was able to get a an early listen to album, and I like what I hear.
“Hope” is an atmospherically moody album. Lyrically, the songs touch upon a whole range of human emotions and subject matter. Per the artist:
“Hope falls into two halves—the songs written earliest in the process address the near death of Tom’s brother and explore the fragile nature of self-esteem and nostalgia for childhood. The second half is about finding a home and hope in fatherhood.”
With his smoothly unassuming voice, Tom sings with such a honest humanity that it’s hard not to occupy the emotional state of mind that is embodied in each song. His voice is perfectly accompanied by his wife’s immaculate production. From the the subtle crescendos of the strings in “House of Cards” to the punctuating vocal harmonies in “Believer”, not sonic element is wasted, and the musical experience, as a whole is entirely satisfying.
The emotional depth of “Hope” runs deep, but the journey is done in earnest and never forced upon the listener. While the sonics of the tracks reflect an obvious attention to high-quality production, the instrumentation and musical arrangements are rather uncomplicated. This overall simplicity of the music- like the guitar only (with bare vocal harmonies) track “Human Nature”- allows the emotion inherent the music to act as the second instrument, which creates a reflective mellow mood that successfully sustains itself throughout a full listen.
The last time I listened to this album, I let it play as I tried to drift off to sleep. Once I settled in, I let my mind slip into the sonic atmosphere Tom Forest created. I let the understated beauty of the music fill my mind and drifted away to “Hope”.
